State and Local Per Capita Welfare Spending, 2008 
Rank |
State |
Welfare Expenditure |
Population |
Welfare Spending Per Capita |
| 1 | New York | 44,763,366 | 19,467,789 | $2,299.4 |
| 2 | Alaska | 1,477,255 | 688,125 | $2,146.8 |
| 3 | Rhode Island | 2,230,969 | 1,053,502 | $2,117.7 |
| 4 | Vermont | 1,253,623 | 621,049 | $2,018.6 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | 12,682,783 | 6,543,595 | $1,938.2 |
| 6 | Maine | 2,492,721 | 1,319,691 | $1,888.9 |
| 7 | New Mexico | 3,558,863 | 1,986,763 | $1,791.3 |
| 8 | Minnesota | 9,045,789 | 5,230,567 | $1,729.4 |
| 9 | Delaware | 1,451,463 | 876,211 | $1,656.5 |
| 10 | California | 60,191,685 | 36,580,371 | $1,645.5 |
| 11 | Connecticut | 5,621,038 | 3,502,932 | $1,604.7 |
| 12 | Pennsylvania | 19,032,829 | 12,566,368 | $1,514.6 |
| 13 | Mississippi | 4,405,435 | 2,940,212 | $1,498.3 |
| 14 | Kentucky | 6,198,814 | 4,287,931 | $1,445.6 |
| 15 | New Jersey | 12,420,936 | 8,663,398 | $1,433.7 |
| 16 | West Virginia | 2,565,426 | 1,814,873 | $1,413.6 |
| 17 | Ohio | 16,113,757 | 11,528,072 | $1,397.8 |
| 18 | Tennessee | 8,664,226 | 6,240,456 | $1,388.4 |
| 19 | Michigan | 13,430,826 | 10,002,486 | $1,342.7 |
| 20 | Illinois | 17,167,067 | 12,842,954 | $1,336.7 |
| 21 | Oklahoma | 4,821,034 | 3,644,025 | $1,323.0 |
| 22 | Arkansas | 3,771,732 | 2,867,764 | $1,315.2 |
| 23 | Louisiana | 5,828,886 | 4,451,513 | $1,309.4 |
| 24 | Iowa | 3,904,781 | 2,993,987 | $1,304.2 |
| 25 | North Carolina | 11,652,949 | 9,247,134 | $1,260.2 |
| 26 | Maryland | 7,118,659 | 5,658,655 | $1,258.0 |
| 27 | Indiana | 8,034,079 | 6,388,309 | $1,257.6 |
| 28 | Wyoming | 656,176 | 532,981 | $1,231.1 |
| 29 | Arizona | 7,927,027 | 6,499,377 | $1,219.7 |
| 30 | South Carolina | 5,477,881 | 4,503,280 | $1,216.4 |
| 31 | Hawaii | 1,563,961 | 1,287,481 | $1,214.7 |
| 32 | North Dakota | 773,278 | 641,421 | $1,205.6 |
| 33 | Nebraska | 2,099,052 | 1,781,949 | $1,178.0 |
| 34 | New Hampshire | 1,544,997 | 1,321,872 | $1,168.8 |
| 35 | Washington | 7,612,755 | 6,566,073 | $1,159.4 |
| 36 | Wisconsin | 6,524,417 | 5,627,610 | $1,159.4 |
| 37 | Oregon | 4,311,257 | 3,782,991 | $1,139.6 |
| 38 | Kansas | 3,167,907 | 2,797,375 | $1,132.5 |
| 39 | Idaho | 1,614,703 | 1,527,506 | $1,057.1 |
| 40 | Missouri | 6,231,774 | 5,956,335 | $1,046.2 |
| 41 | South Dakota | 811,709 | 804,532 | $1,008.9 |
| 42 | Georgia | 9,644,769 | 9,697,838 | $994.5 |
| 43 | Florida | 18,063,299 | 18,423,878 | $980.4 |
| 44 | Alabama | 4,582,199 | 4,677,464 | $979.6 |
| 45 | Texas | 23,048,973 | 24,304,290 | $948.3 |
| 46 | Virginia | 7,354,674 | 7,795,424 | $943.5 |
| 47 | Colorado | 4,557,057 | 4,935,213 | $923.4 |
| 48 | Montana | 888,748 | 968,035 | $918.1 |
| 49 | Utah | 2,203,414 | 2,727,343 | $807.9 |
| 50 | Nevada | 1,580,454 | 2,615,772 | $604.2 |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Per-capita spending is calculated by The Public Policy Institute. | ||||
