The Annual Survey of State Government Finances (ASFIN) provides detailed financial information reported directly by state governments. Data are collected annually from state agencies through survey submissions and are supplemented with additional publicly available or agency‑provided sources when needed. These supplemental sources may include online financial statements, emailed forms, higher education expenditure data provided through agreements with the National Center for Education Statistics, unemployment compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other state‑submitted electronic revenue and expenditure files.

The U.S. Census Bureau standardizes and validates all inputs using established classification codes and quality checks to ensure consistency across states and survey years. ASFIN statistics cover revenues, expenditures, debt, and other fiscal activities.