Government Spending: Federal, State, Local

Governments in the US will spend $6.2 trillion in 2012.

In fiscal 2012 the federal government estimates spending will be $3.7 trillion, of which $0.6 trillion will be transferred to states and local governments. State spending for 2012 is "guesstimated" by usgovernmentspending.com at $1.4 trilion and local government spending is "guesstimated" by usgovernmentspending.com at $1.7 trillion.

Total spending at all levels of government in the United States is "guesstimated" by usgovernmentspending.com to be $6.2 trillion in 2012.

Government Spending: the Big Picture

The four big programs each cost about one trillion dollars a year.

Where does all the money go? It is really quite simple. Governments at all levels, federal, state, and local, spend about $1.0 trillion a year on pensions, including Social Security and government employee pensions. Governments spend about $1.1 trillion a year on health care, principally Medicare and Medicaid. Governments spend about $0.9 trillion a year on education at all levels, principally at the local government level. The federal government spends about $0.9 trillion a year on defense, including the Departments of Defense, State, and Veterans Affairs. Governments spend $0.6 trillion on welfare programs. All other spending amounts to $1.6 trillion, including interest on the national debt. It all adds up to $6.2 trillion.

Pie Chart of Total US Government Spending

Although the four big government programs--pensions, health care, education, and defense--each cost about a trillion dollars a year they are distributed unequally between the levels of government.

Chart 2.04: Total Spending Details

Total government spending in the United States, including federal, state, and local governments, is expected to total $6.2 trillion in 2012. The total features five major functions. Of the total spending, health care takes an 18 percent share of total spending, pensions a 16 percent share, defense a 15 percent share, and education a 15 percent share. Welfare, the fifth largest function, takes a 10 percent share of spending. All other functions, including interest on the debt, take only 26 percent of spending.

Pie Chart of Federal Government Spending

Chart 2.05: Federal Spending Details

Federal spending is budgeted at $3.8 trillion for FY 2012, and includes four major functions. Defense, including foreign policy, veterans, and foreign aid, is 25 percent of spending; health care, principally Medicare and Medicaid, takes a 23 percent share; pensions, principally Social Security, take a 22 percent share; and welfare takes 12 percent of spending. All other spending, including interest on the national debt, takes 19 percent of federal spending.

Notice that education is not a major item in federal spending.

Pie Chart of State Government Spending

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Chart 2.06: State Spending Details

State government spending, as "guesstimated" by usgovernmentspending.com, will total about $1.3 trillion in FY 2012, and features five major functions. Health care spending takes 31 percent of spending, education an 18 percent share, welfare 11 percent, and state government pensions a 11 percent share. Transportation takes a 8 percent share of state spending. All other spending takes a 20 percent share of state government spending.

Pie Chart of Local Government Spending

Chart 2.07: Local Spending Details

Local government spending, as "guesstimated" by usgovernmentspending.com, will total about $1.7 trillion on FY 2012, and features two major functions. Biggest program by far is education, that is, K-12 schools, taking a full 39 percent of local spending, followed by protection--police, fire and justice system--at 11 percent. Then comes transportation at 8 percent and health care at 8 percent. All other programs, at 35 percent of total, each take less than 7 percent of local government spending.