State Finances Update for FY 2010

On December 14, 2011 the US Census Bureau released data on state finances for FY 2010 here, including spending and revenue for each individual state and for all states combined.

On December 27, 2011 we updated state and local spending and revenue data as follows:

1. We replaced "guesstimated" state spending and revenue data for FY2010 using the data from the Census Bureau.
2. We replaced "guesstimated" local spending and revenue data for FY 2010 with estimates for each spending and revenue category using the trends in state finances between FY 2009 and FY 2010.
3. We replaced "guesstimated" state revenue data for FY 2011 with data from the Census Bureau's quarterly state tax summary here.
4. We replaced "guesstimated" local revenue data for FY 2011 with estimates for each category using trends for each category of state revenue between FY 2010 and FY 2011.
5. We replaced "guesstimated" state and local spending and revenue for FY 2012 thru FY2017 with new guesstimates based on the latest Census Bureau data for FY 2010 state finances and FY 2011 quarterly tax data.

The Census Bureau expects to release local spending and revenue data for FY 2010 in July 2012.

Highlights: State spending on Welfare was up from a "guesstimated" $164 billion to $237 billion.  Business and Other Revenue was up from a "guesstimated" $174 billion to $456 billion.  This reflects the $289 billion profit reported on state pension plans for FY 2010, a partial recovery from the FY 2009 loss of $524 billion.