Random Samplings

The Funding of our State and Local Governments

Written by: Lisa M. Blumerman and Jeffrey L. Barnett, Governments Division, US Census Bureau

These days the health of our state and local governments is a topic that is much debated. Are our state and local governments solvent? Will they continue to be able to provide the services we expect and depend on?  Will our state and local governments be the next housing crisis? Or is the reality somewhere in between?

The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2009 Annual Surveys of State and Local Government Finances provide a look at the revenues, assets, expenditures, and debt of our nation’s governments.  These data help us better understand the fiscal health of our governments and allow us to begin to answer the questions above.

In order to understand the health of our governments, we must first understand how they are funded – or where the revenue comes from. Once that foundation is built, we can then understand how they spend our money. (See figure: Revenue of State and Local Governments: 2009).

State and local government revenues declined 22.1 percent from 2008 to receipts of $2.1 trillion in 2009. The general revenue funds of state and local governments totaled $2.4 trillion in 2009. As shown in the figure above, the major components of general revenue for state and local governments in 2009 were taxes (52.7 percent), federal support (22.2 percent) and charges (16.1 percent).

Taxes are the principal source of general revenue for our governments comprising 47.8 percent of general revenue for state governments and 39.5 percent of general revenue for local governments in 2009. Overall, tax revenue declined by 4.5 percent for all governments to

$1.3 trillion in 2009. This decline was driven by declines in receipt of monies from individual income and corporate taxes (11.3 and 19.2 percent, respectively). 

State and local governments differ in their dependence on federal funding for their support. In 2009, state governments received 31.8 percent of their general revenue from the federal government; whereas, local governments received 4.3 percent of their general revenue directly as federal support.  [Note, local governments receive a considerable amount of funding as “pass-through” funding from their state government. This funding originated at the federal level but because it “passes through” the state it is accounted for as state revenue in our data.]

The rest of the funding of our state and local governments comes from a variety of sources (as shown above), including current charges, utility revenue, liquor store revenue and insurance trust revenue. Typically, at the state level, insurance trust revenue (or revenue from investments related to state government pension and other trust funds) is the next largest generator of funds. However, this was not the case in 2009. In 2009, current charges was the next largest generator of funds at $161.2 billion. Insurance trust revenue declined in 2009. For both state and local governments, current charges generated $388.8 billion in 2009.

That is the picture of how our state and local governments generate the monies they need to provide us with services. Coming soon, “Your Tax Dollars at Work: How our State and Local Governments Spend our Money.”

These statistics are available for all state and local governments. To understand your governments’ finances for 2009, visit our website. 

Read the press release.

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The World Population at 7 Billion

Written by:  Daniel Goodkind, Population Division, US Census Bureau

The world’s population will shortly reach 7 billion. The United Nations estimates the world will reach this milestone on October 31, 2011. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the world population will pass 7 billion on March 12, 2012   (see graph; for a link to Census Bureau’s estimates of today’s population, as well as annual midyear estimates from 1950 to 2050, see http://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/worldpopinfo.php). 

While the true world total population is not known, it is independently estimated by both the United Nations and the Census Bureau. Both organizations begin with separate population estimates for individual countries and areas throughout the world and then compile them into a world count. Country estimates typically are based on national census counts, which usually are taken only once a decade. Thus, to estimate each country population beyond the latest census year requires separate projections based on current demographic trends, which are typically determined using whatever demographic data (sometimes limited) are available. Clearly, there is some uncertainty in world population estimates. Despite some differences, the world population estimates of the United Nations and the Census Bureau are remarkably close, different by less than one half of one percent in 2011.

The rapid increase in the Earth’s population in recent decades is because of an excess of births over deaths. Although birth rates and death rates have both declined sharply since the 1960s, death rates have declined more rapidly than birth rates. The cumulative effect of the excess of births over deaths in recent decades has led to a successive attainment of billion-person milestones every 12 or 13 years.

For instance, according to Census Bureau estimates, the Earth’s population reached 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1987, and 6 billion in 1999 (these figures are derived from the International Data Base, which compiles demographic estimates for 228 countries and areas of the world). In the future, as fertility continues to fall, it will take longer to add another billion. The Census Bureau currently expects that 14 years will pass before the world reaches the next milestone of 8 billion (in 2026) and then another 16 years before it reaches 9 billion (in 2042). The exact date at which such thresholds will be passed is uncertain, of course, since it depends on future birth and death rates. Even more uncertain is the future year at which the Earth’s population may reach a tipping point and begin to decline.

Perhaps more important than the global population size are underlying demographic trends. One is that population growth is uneven throughout the world – many countries have very low fertility and slow or even negative population growth, while others, particularly developing countries, have high fertility (differences in mortality and migration also affect population growth). Thus, an increasing share of the world’s future population is likely to reside in the developing countries of the world. Other key trends have emerged because of the decline of fertility and mortality. One trend emerging from low fertility is population aging – the increased share of the population at older ages. Population aging presents challenges, particularly for those societies that have limited resources to support this group.

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U.S. Census Bureau Releases 2010 Guide to State and Local Census Geography

Written by: Katy Rossiter, Geographer, Geography Division, US Census Bureau

Have you ever wondered how many counties are in Michigan? (63!) Or, what the largest city in Wyoming is?  (Cheyenne!)  Did you know that Montpelier, Vermont has the smallest population of any state capital with just 7,855 people (as of the 2010 Census)?  All of these facts, along with many more, are available in the 2010 Guide to State and Local Census Geography recently released by the Census Bureau.  

The 2010 Guide to State and Local Census Geography is filled with geographic history, interesting facts, and important population information for each state and state equivalent.  The first Guide to State and Local Census Geography was issued in June 1993 and contained an overview of census geography and key geographic concepts for each state and state equivalents as it related to the 1990 Census.  The Census Bureau has updated this publication based on the 2010 Census and made it available as a web publication. 

Here is a peak at some of the information that the publication includes about each state and equivalents:

• 2010 Census Population
• Land Area
• Density
• Capital
• Date Became a State
• Bordering States
• International Borders
• Postal Abbreviation
• Most Populous, Largest in Area, and Most Densely Populated Areas
• Historical Centers of Population
• And many more

You can view the Guide to State and Local Census Geography for each of the state or equivalent entities. They are a great resource for understanding each state’s unique geography.  They are also a great resource for trivia night!

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Public Pensions See Drop in Assets

Written by: Lisa Blumerman, US Census Bureau

Anyone who has a retirement or pension plan knows they have substantial investments in financial markets and that their earnings are very dependent on changes in market performance.

So, what effect did the 2008 market decline have on our public employee retirement systems?

The Census Bureau’s 2009 state and local public retirement systems statistics (July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009) show that state and local public employee retirement systems lost over $726 billion in public pension assets, following a $176.7 billion drop the year before.

The results of the survey also show that most investment categories — which are all dependent on market strength — showed decreases. Corporate stocks, which comprise one-third of the total cash and investment holdings, saw a 29.8 percent decline, decreasing from $1.2 trillion to $808.9 billion.

The only categories showing increases were cash and short-term investments, mortgages, and real property, which all together only comprised 9.1 percent of all cash and investment holdings.

In short, the market decline of 2008 had a large impact on our government retirement systems. We will have to stay tuned to results from future surveys to see if the health of our state and local retirement systems recovers from the impact made in 2008.

Read the press release

Explore more information on state and local retirement systems

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