States receive federal aid for many reasons, from providing relief during natural disasters and health crises to funding improvements in education, transportation, infrastructure, healthcare and more. Some states receive much larger aid packages than others, but it’s not just the dollar amount that matters. It’s important to contextualize the money flowing in by comparing it to things like what percentage of the state’s revenue it makes up and how much the federal government gets back through its taxes on the state’s residents.
“Regardless of whether the distribution of federal funds is fair or not, living in one of the most federally dependent states can be beneficial for residents. For every dollar residents of the top states pay in taxes, they get several dollars back in federal funding, which often leads to higher-quality infrastructure, education, public health and more.” – Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst
In order to find out exactly how big the difference in federal dependence is from state to state, WalletHub compared the 50 states in terms of three key metrics: the return on taxes paid to the federal government, the share of federal jobs, and federal funding as a share of state revenue.
Federal Dependency of South Carolina (1=Most Dependent, 25=Avg.):
- 5th – Overall Rank of Most Federally Dependent States
- 1st – Return on Taxes Paid to the Federal Government
- 21st – Federal Funding as a Share of State Revenue
- 31st – Share of Federal Jobs
For the full report, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-most-least-dependent-on-the-federal-government/2700
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