Public Information Office CB00-63
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e-mail: pio@census.gov
Gerard Keffer
301-457-1522
Federal Domestic Spending Up 4 Percent in 1999;
California and New York Received Most Funds,
Census Bureau Reports
The federal government distributed more than $1.5 trillion in domestic
benefits, subsidies, grants, goods and services, and salaries and wages in
fiscal year 1999 -- a 4 percent increase over 1998, according to two reports
released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau.
California received the most federal funds of any state ($166 billion),
followed by New York ($102 billion), Texas ($98 billion), Florida ($87 billion)
and Pennsylvania ($69 billion).
Altogether, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid accounted for $735 billion
in 1999, 48 percent of all federal domestic spending.
"The areas of the biggest increases were grant awards and direct payments to
individuals for retirement and disability," said Gerard Keffer, chief of the
Census Bureau's Federal Programs Branch.
Federal direct payments to individuals for retirement and disability in
1999 reached $523 billion, a 3.2 percent increase over 1998, with Social
Security alone totaling $415 billion, a 3.1 percent increase. Other direct
payments in 1999 totaled $328 billion, a 0.7 percent decrease, including
Medicare at $209 billion, a 0.4 percent decrease. Spending on grant awards
in 1999 totaled $294 billion, a 9.3 percent increase over 1998, with Medicaid
payments totaling $111 billion, an 11.7 percent increase. Procurement
contracts in 1999 were $216 billion and federal government salaries and
wages, $177 billion.
At the county or county-equivalent level, New York City, N.Y., led the list
($44.2 billion), followed by Los Angeles County, Calif. ($43.5 billion), Cook
County, Ill. ($24.3 billion), San Diego County, Calif. ($17.9 billion), and
Harris County, Texas ($14.0 billion).
New York City and Los Angeles County received the most federal funds of any
local area, topping 41 states; however, on a per capita basis, they ranked
769 and 1,653, respectively, among the 3,137 counties or county-equivalent
areas.
Per capita federal spending topped $8,000 in three states -- Alaska ($8,521),
Virginia ($8,416) and Maryland ($8,119). New Mexico ($7,805) was fourth,
followed by Hawaii ($7,228), North Dakota ($7,157) and Montana ($7,052).
Defense Department domestic spending, which includes payroll, defense
contracts and grants, and military pensions, totaled $237 billion in 1999,
a 4.9 percent increase over 1998.
The top five states in Defense Department spending in 1999 were
California ($29 billion), Virginia ($23 billion), Texas ($17 billion),
Florida ($14 billion) and Maryland ($9 billion). For counties or
county-equivalent areas, the top five beneficiaries were Los Angeles County,
Calif. ($8.0 billion), San Diego County, Calif. ($7.3 billion), Fairfax
County, Va. ($5.1 billion), St. Louis City, Mo. ($4.0 billion), and
Norfolk City, Va. ($3.9 billion).
The Census Bureau report, Consolidated Federal Funds Report for Fiscal Year
1999 (State and County Areas), CFFR/99, covers most domestic spending by the
federal government. The largest exception is interest on the federal debt.
This report is the only consolidated source of state and local data on the
majority of direct federal expenditures, as well as data on federal loan and
insurance programs. Another report, Federal Aid to States for Fiscal Year 1999,
FAS/99, contains federal agency and program-level data on grants to state and
local governments.
The data in this report are not subject to sampling variability. As in all
surveys, the data are subject to nonsampling error, which includes errors of
response and processing.
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