EMBARGOED UNTIL: 12:01 A.M. EST, MARCH 4, 1999 (THURSDAY)
Public Information Office CB99-47
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e-mail: pio@census.gov
David Kellerman
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State and Local Government Spending Reaches $1.4 Trillion;
California Accounts for 13 Percent, Census Bureau Reports
Spending by the nation's state and local governments increased
to $1.4 trillion during 1995-96, while spending in California topped all
states at $187 billion, according to tabulations released today by the
Commerce Department's Census Bureau.
The 1996 Annual Survey of Government Finances tabulations provide
information for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Nationwide, the 1996 expenditure level reflects an increase of about 3.4
percent from the 1995 expenditure level. During this same period, expenditures
for California increased by 3.1 percent.
On the other side, state and local governments' revenues increased by
6.7 percent to $1.5 trillion between 1995 and 1996. California's revenues
were up by 6.4 percent to $201 billion.
Other findings from the 1996 tabulations, released on the Internet,
include:
- State and local governments spent more than one-half of their money
on four areas education ($399 billion), public welfare ($193 billion),
highways ($79 billion) and hospitals ($71 billion).
- Taxes continued as the primary source of government revenue, with
state governments relying primarily on general sales tax ($139 billion)
and individual income taxes ($133 billion) and local government
relying primarily on property taxes ($199 billion).
- State and local governments had an outstanding debt of $1.2 trillion,
interest payments on debt of $69 billion and cash and security
holdings of $2.3 trillion.
The tabulations from the 1996 Annual Survey of Government Finances show
detailed revenue by type and source (such as taxes, charges and federal
aid); expenditure by function (such as police, fire and education) and by
object category (current operation and capital outlay); indebtedness; and
assets (cash and security holdings). Tables and downloadable files include
summary data for the nation, summary estimates by state area and
statistics by level of government (state and local).
The data are subject to sampling variability, as well as nonsampling
error. Sources of nonsampling error include errors of response,
nonreporting and coverage. Measures of sampling variability are shown in
the tables, presented as relative standard errors.
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The U.S. Census Bureau, pre-eminent collector and disseminator of timely,
relevant and quality data about the people and the economy of the United
States, conducts a population and housing census every 10 years, an
economic census every five years and more than 100 demographic and
economic surveys every year, all of them evolving from the first census in
1790.
