The 5 most federally dependent states, according to WalletHub — and the 5 least

In the earliest days of the second Trump administration, Elon Musk vowed to take a chainsaw to the federal bureaucracy and slash $2 trillion in government spending. That didn’t happen. In fact, the U.S. government spent $6.6 trillion in the fiscal year spanning Oct. 2024 through the end of August — $376 billion more than the previous year, according to available Treasury Department data. And some states are much more dependent on federal cash than others.

WalletHub compiled a list of the most and least federally dependent states. It analyzed data to find both the state government’s and the state residents’ federal dependency, looking at the return on taxes paid to the federal government, share of federal jobs, and federal funding as a share of state revenue.

“Regardless of whether the distribution of federal funds is fair or not, living in one of the most federally dependent states can be beneficial for residents,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said. “For every dollar residents of the top states pay in taxes, they get several dollars back in federal funding, which often leads to higher-quality infrastructure, education, public health and more.”

Continue reading to see which states are the most — and least — dependent.

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Louisiana is the 5th most federally dependent state in the country. It gets back $1.43 for every $1 paid in federal taxes, federal jobs make up 1.7% of its workforce, and federal funding accounts for 50.1% of state revenue.

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Mississippi is the 4th most federally dependent state in the country. It gets back $2.39 for every $1 paid in federal taxes, federal jobs account for 2.3% of the workforce, and federal funding makes up 43.3% of state revenue.

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West Virginia is the 3rd most federally dependent state in the country. It gets back $2.74 for every $1 paid in federal taxes, federal jobs represent 3.8% of the workforce, and federal funding accounts for 42.0% of state revenue.

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Kentucky is the 2nd most federally dependent state in the country. It gets back $3.45 for every $1 paid in federal taxes, federal jobs make up 1.8% of the workforce, and federal funding accounts for 43.8% of state revenue.

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Alaska is the most federally dependent state in the country. It gets back $2.52 for every $1 paid in federal taxes, federal employment is notably high at 4.7% of the workforce, and federal funding accounts for 44.9% of state revenue.

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Kansas is the 5th least federally dependent state in the country. It gets back $0.99 for every $1 paid in federal taxes, federal jobs make up 1.9% of the workforce, and federal funding accounts for 27.2% of state revenue.

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Utah is the 4th least federally dependent state in the country. It gets back $0.76 for every $1 paid in federal taxes, federal jobs represent 2.4% of the workforce, and federal funding makes up 27.5% of state revenue.

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Delaware is the 3rd least federally dependent state in the country. It gets back $0.60 for every $1 paid in federal taxes, federal jobs account for 1.4% of the workforce, and federal funding makes up 30.0% of state revenue.

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Massachusetts is the 2nd least federally dependent state in the country. It gets back $0.44 for every $1 paid in federal taxes, federal jobs make up 1.3% of the workforce, and federal funding accounts for 30.8% of state revenue.

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New Jersey is the least federally dependent state in the country. It gets back $0.53 for every $1 paid in federal taxes, federal jobs make up just 1.2% of the workforce, and federal funding accounts for 30.0% of state revenue.

Joseph Zeballos-Roig contributed to this article.