The 5 states in America most dependent on federal funding — and the 5 least dependent
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.
5th most dependent: South Carolina
Photo: Mark Wallheiser / Stringer (Getty Images)
4th most dependent: Mississippi
Photo: Streeter Lecka / Staff (Getty Images)
3rd most dependent: West Virginia
Photo: Spencer Platt / Staff (Getty Images)
2nd most dependent: Kentucky
Photo: Mario Tama / Staff (Getty Images)
Most dependent: Alaska
Photo: Mario Tama / Staff (Getty Images)
5th least dependent: Utah
Photo: Christian Petersen / Staff (Getty Images)
4th least dependent: Massachusetts
Photo: Michael M. Santiago / Staff (Getty Images)
3rd least dependent: Delaware
Photo: Mark Makela / Stringer (Getty Images)
2nd least dependent: California
Photo: Mario Tama / Staff (Getty Images)
Least dependent: New Jersey
Photo: Hannah Beier / Stringer (Getty Images)