Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Latest Data: 2021

This data is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s “Annual State Survey of Government Finances” which gives the state governments’ general expenditures for each function the government performs. The category of government administration expenditures comprises of five expenditure groups including financial administration, judicial and legal, federal and state legislative, central staff services, and general public buildings (Methodology for Summary Tabulations).

Government administration expenditures refers to the total amount spent by the state on government administration given in millions.

The government administration expenditures percentage is calculated as the amount spent on government administration divided by total government expenditures. Government administration expenditures per capita is calculated as the amount spent on government administration divided by the state population in the given year.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “Expenditures comprise all amounts of money paid out by a government during its fiscal year, with some exceptions. Statistics on state government finance include measurement of expenditures by character (e.g., current operations, capital outlay, intergovernmental expenditures, and so on) and function (e.g., education, health, public welfare, natural resources, and so on). Expenditure does not include a government's payment of its debt, or purchases of investment securities, loans it has granted, agency or private trust transactions, nor correcting transactions” (State Government Finances Methodology).

According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census Government Finance and Employment Classification Manual (Ch. 5, pp. 29-34) financial administration expenditures is expenditures related to officials and central staff agencies concerned with tax assessment and collection, accounting, auditing, budgeting, purchasing, custody of funds, and other finance activities. Judicial and legal expenditures consist of any activities associated with courts, legal services, and legal counseling of indigent or other needy persons. The federal and state legislative group comprises legislative bodies and related activities involved in the making, enacting, and repeal of law. Central staff services are costs associated with government executive, administrative, and staff service agencies other than financial, judicial, legal, and Federal or state legislative activities. The last group general public buildings includes construction, equipping, maintenance, and operation of general public buildings not related to specific functions or agencies.