US BUDGET DATA
US CENSUS BUREAU
FEATURED SPENDING
GOV. SPENDING
BY YEAR
2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001
2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991
1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981
1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971
1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961
1960 1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 1954 1953 1952 1951
1950 1949 1948 1947 1946 1945 1944 1943 1942 1941
1940 1939 1938 1937 1936 1935 1934 1933 1932 1931
1930 1929 1928 1927 1926 1925 1924 1923 1922 1921
Click 
and 
buttons for bar charts and pie charts.
Also, click here to display trend charts of public spending.
United States Federal, State,
and Local Government Spending
-5yr -1yr Fiscal Year 2002 +1yr +5yr
Amounts in $ billionGDP: $10,377.4
billionChange View: people default radical COFOG Fed Gov.
XferState Local Total clk [+] Pensions 502.7 0.0 92.7 22.2 617.6 [+] Health Care 427.4 -203.6 258.2 82.0 564.1 [+] Education 77.9 -56.0 148.8 440.5 611.2 [+] Defense 421.8 0.0 0.4 0.0 422.2 [+] Welfare 223.6 -26.8 67.0 56.5 320.3 [+] Protection 35.1 0.0 68.1 119.9 223.1 [+] Transportation 61.8 -39.3 76.0 70.8 169.3 [+] General Government 17.0 -31.2 63.8 94.7 144.3 [+] Other Spending 72.9 -3.6 41.3 169.1 279.6 [+] Interest 170.9 0.0 31.4 43.9 246.2 [+] Balance -0.0 -0.0 70.3 29.4 99.7 [+] Total Spending 2,011.2 -360.5 918.0 1,129.1 3,697.8 Click for Bar Chart or Pie Chart -> Key: actual — using federal budget
The table shows overall government expenditures—federal spending, state spending, and local spending—in the United States of America for all levels of government for the specified fiscal year. Expenditure totals are aggregated for each major government function.
All federal outlays prior to 2008 (state and local since 2006) are actual. More recent spending, including future years out to 2013, are budgeted, estimated, or guesstimated.
Federal expenditure for 1962 through 2013 is based on federal subfunction data published in the president’s Budget of the United States Government. State and local expenditure for 1992 through 2013 is derived from spending, revenue, and debt numbers in the US Census Bureau’s annual survey of State and Local Government Finances.
State and local expenditure between 1971 and 1991 is obtained from Statistical Abstract of the United States.
Federal expenditure prior to 1962 and state and local expenditure prior to 1971 is obtained from Bicentennial Edition: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970.
You can use controls on the table to change the year or to drill down to view more detailed spending information. You can also view the spending data as percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Click the button at the right of each line of the table to display a bar chart of government spending. Click a button at the base of each column for a bar chart or pie chart. You can right click on the chart image to copy and paste it into your own content. Click the image to close the chart display.
Notes
Data Sources: For a discussion of the sources of the government spending data used here read How We Got the Data for usgovernmentspending.com.
Intergovernmental Transfers: The column labeled “Gov. Xfer” in the table represents monies paid by the federal government as grants and aid to state and local governments. These are “intergovernmental transfers.”
For a discussion read All About Intergovernmental Transfers.
Federal Spending by Agency Code: If you drill down below the federal subfunction level you can see federal spending split up into about 4,000 agency code accounts.
For a discussion read Federal Spending at the Agency Code Level
Actual vs. Budgeted: Government spending data in usgovernmentspending.com includes historical spending and also future spending in three categories: budgeted, estimated, and guesstimated. Records of recent spending are more detailed than historical records of earlier times.
For a table of data sources see Government Spending Data: Sources.
Government Spending Updates: The last update to federal spending was made in February 2008. The last update to state and local spending was made in July 2007.
The update schedule is published on Government Spending Update Schedule.
Get spending chart.
Download spending table.
Download spending data series.
Review data sources.
usgovernmentspending.com was designed and executed by:
Christopher Chantrill.
Report bugs here.
2005 Census of Governments - Finance Technical Documentation
Contains Census Bureau spending and revenue codes
Budget of the United States Government
Main page for latest US government budget documents.
Federal, State, and Local Government Spending
Census Bureau stats for federal, state, and local spending.
Historical US Federal Expenditure by Function 1902-1970
Table from Historical Statistics of the United States: Chapter Y: Government. Includes US Federal Expenditure 1902-1970, p 1123-1124.
Historical US Federal Spending
Table No. HS--47. Federal Government -- Receipts and Outlays: 1900 to 2003 (xls).
JpGraph Chart Library
Open source graph creating Library for PHP.
State and Local Government Finances
Census Bureau main page for state and local government taxes and spending.
Statistical Abstract of the United States
historical editions of Census Bureau's publication. From 1878.
US Budgets back to 1996
Browse US budget documents. From 1996 to present
US Population Estimates from 1900
Census Bureau's annual population estimate from 1900 to 1999
Education
“We have met with families in which for weeks together, not an article of sustenance but potatoes had been used; yet for every child the hard-earned sum was provided to send them to school.”
E. G. West, Education and the State