The 5 states in America most dependent on federal funding — and the 5 least dependent

2 days ago

0 1 minute read

President Donald Trump and DOGE boss Elon Musk are on a mission to significantly cut federal spending by $1 trillion this year — laying off workers, canceling contracts, and slashing budgets across all departments.

While it seems unlikely they’ll meet their goal, the impact of their cuts is already being noticed. And some states are feeling the cuts especially hard.

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.