Indiana ‘Average’ in Government Spending

We’re not "extreme" in Indiana. Not exactly breaking news, is it? In this case, we’re referring to how our state and local governments spend their money. More specifically, it’s a new report from the Tax Foundation, which uses Census numbers to identify the top 10 states in spending in nine different categories.

Indiana is nowhere to be found in the top 10. Many of the Hoosier spending percentages are similar to U.S. averages. Is that good or bad? Not sure. I guess it means we have balance. But the numbers are interesting. Here are the categories with, in order, U.S. average, Indiana average and top spender:

  • K-12 education: 23.9% (U.S.); 24% (Indiana); New Jersey, 31.8%
  • Higher education: 9.1%; 11%; Utah 15.5%
  • Welfare: 16.8%; 16.8%; Maine 24.3%
  • Health and hospitals: 8.4%; 8.8%; South Carolina 15.9%
  • Transportation: 7.6%; 6.8%; South Dakota 15.8%
  • Public safety: 9.1%; 6.7%; Nevada 13.6%
  • Environment and housing: 7.7%; 6.2%; Louisiana 15.1%
  • Government administration: 5.3%; 4.6%; Delaware 8.6%
  • Debt interest: 4.1%; 4.1%; Massachussets 7.4%

Find all the numbers here.