Budget Efficiency by State
-- by David Swink, FCTA, 06/30/2014
FCTA has been appalled by the cost of government at both the Virginia and Fairfax County levels. To put this in perspective at the state level, we decided to get from Wikipedia the declared budgets for each of the 50 states, divided by that state's population, to get the amount spent by the state per resident, to get a rough idea of how efficiently each state provides government services.
Obviously, states with very small populations (eg - Alaska, North Dakota) are at a disadvantage here, as a certain level of overhead cost is required to implement the most basic level of government services. Geography and the state's climate also are considerations. But more generally, the states vary widely in how they "spread the load" to their local jurisdictions. Nevertheless, the approach is sound and is a start towards the states' tax burdens; just be aware that there are those other factors to consider.
Check the following table to see how Virginia compares with other states. (For states with biannual budgets, the resulting annual cost is considered as half the declared budget.)
State 2013 Pop. Budget($B) FY Cost/Yr/Person Alabama 4,833,722 28.10 2014 $5,813 Alaska 735,132 12.80 2014 $17,412 Arizona 6,626,624 39.60 2014-15 $2,988 Arkansas 2,959,373 26.90 2014 $9,090 California 38,332,521 145.80 2014 $3,804 Colorado 5,268,367 21.70 2014 $4,119 Connecticut 3,596,080 19.00 2014-15 $2,642 Delaware 925,749 3.80 2014 $4,105 Florida 19,552,860 74.20 2013-14 $1,897 Georgia 9,992,167 19.90 2014 $1,992 Hawaii 1,404,054 23.90 2014-15 $8,511 Idaho 1,612,136 7.30 2014 $4,528 Illinois 12,882,135 62.40 2014 $4,844 Indiana 6,570,902 57.70 2014-15 $4,391 Iowa 3,090,416 15.50 2014-15 $2,508 Kansas 2,893,957 14.40 2014 $4,979 Kentucky 4,395,295 62.30 2012-14 $7,087 Louisiana 4,625,470 28.10 2013-14 $3,038 Maine 1,328,302 7.80 2014-15 $2,936 Maryland 5,928,814 37.30 2014 $6,291 Massachusetts 6,692,824 34.80 2014 $5,200 Michigan 9,895,622 104.80 2014-15 $5,295 Minnesota 5,420,380 66.26 2014-15 $6,112 Mississippi 2,991,207 5.80 2014 $1,939 Missouri 6,044,171 25.70 2014 $4,252 Montana 1,015,165 4.30 2014-15 $2,118 Nebraska 1,868,516 18.90 2014-15 $5,057 Nevada 2,790,136 20.20 2014-15 $3,620 New Hampshire 1,323,459 11.10 2014-15 $4,194 New Jersey 8,899,339 32.90 2014 $3,697 New Mexico 2,085,287 5.90 2014 $2,829 New York 19,651,127 136.50 2014 $6,946 North Carolina 9,848,060 41.90 2014-15 $2,127 North Dakota 723,393 12.80 2014-15 $8,847 Ohio 11,570,808 130.50 2014-15 $5,639 Oklahoma 3,850,568 6.90 2014 $1,792 Oregon 3,930,065 60.20 2014-15 $7,659 Pennsylvania 12,773,801 29.40 2014 $2,302 Rhode Island 1,051,511 8.20 2014 $7,798 South Carolina 4,774,839 22.60 2014 $4,733 South Dakota 844,877 4.11 2014 $4,865 Tennessee 6,495,978 32.60 2014 $5,018 Texas 26,448,193 99.30 2014-15 $1,877 Utah 2,900,872 12.80 2014 $4,412 Vermont 626,630 5.30 2014 $8,458 Virginia 8,260,405 85.80 2013-14 $5,193 Washington 6,971,406 74.80 2014-15 $3,486 West Virginia 1,854,304 4.60 2014 $2,481 Wisconsin 5,742,713 68.00 2014-15 $5,921 Wyoming 582,658 5.60 2013-14 $4,806