Truth in Accounting (TIA), a Chicago-based think tank that analyzes government financial reporting, found that North Dakota has the second best taxpayer surplus out of all 50 states. Taxpayer surplus is a calculation of the state’s available assets divided by the number of taxpayers. North Dakota is one of only nine states with a taxpayer surplus; the rest have a taxpayer burden. These findings are released today in TIA’s annual Financial State of the States report.

North Dakota’s ranking classifies it as a top Sunshine State – one of the five states with the highest taxpayer surpluses. The top five Sunshine States are:

1.Alaska’s taxpayer surplus: $38,200

2.North Dakota’s taxpayer surplus: $24,000

3.Wyoming’s taxpayer surplus: $20,500

4.Utah’s taxpayer surplus: $4,600

5.Nebraska’s taxpayer surplus: $2,600

Despite the healthy status of its finances, North Dakota still has room to improve its accounting and reporting. For example, TIA discovered $199 million of unfunded retirement benefits are not included on the state’s balance sheet. TIA also found that the state has not set aside money to cover $535 million dollars of pension benefits promised to public servants, and highway patrol officers.

“The financial trends in North Dakota have been very healthy over the last few years, with the taxpayer surplus increasing from $8,300 in 2009 to the current level of $24,000,” says Sheila Weinberg, Founder and CEO of TIA. “This is the time for the Gov. Burgum and the North Dakota Legislature to alert the public to the fact that while the state in essence has $7 billion of money on hand, the state’s pension plans don’t have enough assets to pay all of the benefits promised.”

North Dakota is one of nine bright spots in TIA’s analysis of all 50 states, the vast majority of which are in debt to some degree. The average taxpayer burden across all the states is $9,900.

That’s how much taxpayers would have to pay their state to be debt free. In contrast to North Dakota’s $24,000 surplus, the states at the bottom of the ranking carry staggering taxpayer burdens. Illinois for example has a $50,400 burden, and in New Jersey the figure is $67,200.

Across all 50 states, TIA calculated a total of $1.5 trillion of unfunded debt, a huge financial burden for current and future taxpayers. The taxpayer burden is more than just a number – it can also be linked to a lower quality of life, poor highway systems, and the slow home price recovery.

The full 50-state ranking can be found online here. 

The Financial State of the States report is an in depth study of the 50 states’ financial conditions for the most recent Fiscal Year. Data for this report was derived from states’ 2016 financial reports and related retirement plans’ actuarial reports.

Founded in 2002, Truth in Accounting is dedicated to educating and empowering citizens with understandable, reliable, and transparent government financial information. Founder and CEO Sheila Weinberg is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 30 years of experience in the field.