OCT. 1, 2020 — The U.S. Census Bureau released a summary report today for the most recent 2018 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. The report details revenues, expenditures, debt, and cash and security holdings by level of government – including by state, local, and state and local figures combined.

The highlights in the summary report include:

•  State and local government revenues increased 4.1% from the 2017 estimate of $3.92 trillion to $4.08 trillion in 2018. State and local government general revenues totaled $3.29 trillion in 2018 compared to $3.12 trillion in 2017, an increase of 5.4%.
• State and local government expenditures increased 4.1% to $3.81 trillion in 2018 from $3.67 trillion in 2017.
• State and local governments combined had total debt outstanding of $3.1 trillion in 2018, with the local government share of the debt total at 62.5%, while the state government share was at 37.5%.
•  In 2018, cash and security holdings of state and local gov­ernments increased 6.5% to $7.34 trillion compared to $6.89 trillion in 2017. State governments accounted for 70.8% of the total, and local governments account­ed for the remainder.

For further information on state and local government tax revenue, please contact the Economy-Wide Statistics Division, U.S. Census Bureau, at 1-800-832-2839 or by email at <ewd.local.finance@census.gov>.

The data and technical documentation for this release can be found at <www.census.gov/programs-surveys/gov-finances.html>.

No news release associated with this product. Tip Sheet only.

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