The surge in federal spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic significantly improved New York’s per capita ranking in the federal balance of payments from 49^th in 2019 to 30^th in Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2021, according to a report released by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. For every dollar New York sent to the federal government in tax receipts, it received $1.51 back in federal spending, as compared to a national average of $1.70. DiNapoli’s report found that for the second year in a row, all states had a positive balance of payments thanks to the emergency federal relief aid.

“New York’s per capita ranking jumped because of pandemic funding for fiscal recovery, economic support, Medicaid and vaccine manufacturing contracts,” DiNapoli said. “This significant improvement reflects short-term measures, however, not enduring policy changes. As the temporary aid winds down, the underlying trends are likely to return, with New York reverting to getting far less from Washington than it sends.”

New York’s FFY 2021 per capita contribution to the federal treasury was $14,753, and it received $22,208 in federal spending per capita, for a positive balance of payments of $7,455 per capita. New Mexico ranked first in the balance of payments with a $18,878 per capita surplus followed by Hawaii ($15,945), and Virginia ($15,159). Utah ranked 50^th with $3,042, New Hampshire at 49^th with $3,263 and New Jersey at 48^th with a $3,600 per capita surplus.

Federal Spending

Overall, New York received 6.8% of total federal spending examined in FFY 2021, up from 6.4% in the prior year and higher than its share of the population (6%). At $22,208, per capita federal spending was 13.7% higher than the national figure of $19,524. New York ranked eighth in per capita federal spending, up from 17^th in FFY 2020. The improvement was primarily due to increased federal spending in the state in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Compared to FFY 2020, per capita federal spending in New York rose by two-and-a-half times the national average. Major pandemic-related spending that was higher in New York relative to other states includes:

• $2,587 per capita for unemployment compensation;
• $1,219 per capita through the Paycheck Protection Program;
• $998 per capita through State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds;
• $393 per capita in student loan costs from payment waivers; and
• $256 per capita for Restaurant Revitalization and Shuttered Venues Operations.

In FFY 2021, federal spending on Medicaid in New York was close to $47.1 billion or $2,373 per capita, more than one-and-a-half times the national average of $1,559, ranking it third among the states.

Tax Payments to Washington

New York generated 7.7% of the $3.8 trillion in federal tax payments, more than the state’s 6% share of the nation’s population in 2021. At $14,753, New York’s per capita contribution to the federal treasury was third highest among the states and 28.6% more than the national average. The rank is up from fourth in 2020, due primarily to increased income tax payments.

Connecticut had the highest per capita contribution to the federal treasury at $16,916, followed by Massachusetts with $16,314. Mississippi generated the lowest per capita total tax payments at $6,575. New York’s total payments of $293 billion ranked third among the states behind California and Texas.

New York’s individual income tax payments of over $165 billion represented 8.1% of total federal receipts from these taxes. New York’s payments increased by 22.2%, compared to a national increase of 27.4%. New York’s per capita individual income tax payments of $8,332 were more than 36% higher than the national average of $6,114. New York ranked fifth among the states in this category.

New Yorkers’ payments of $87.3 billion were 6.7% of the total federal receipts from social insurance taxes. New York’s per capita contribution for such payments, $4,403, was 11.9% above the national average of $3,935, ranking it 10^th among all states in this category.

Corporate income taxes made up $372 billion, or 9.8%, of total federal receipts from the states in FFY 2021, with $33.6 billion or 9% of that from New York, ranking first on a per capita basis. On total and per capita measures, New York paid the highest corporate income taxes in the 10-year history of this report.

Prior Reports

DiNapoli’s seventh report in this series details the differences among the 50 states and what they pay in federal taxes and how much they receive in federal spending. Past reports put New York’s negative balance of payments at $19.9 billion in FFY 2013, $40.9 billion in FFY 2016, $24.1 billion in FFY 2017, $26.6 billion in FFY 2018 and $23.7 billion in FFY 2019. DiNapoli’s analysis for FFY 2020 was the first time a positive balance was reported, $146.2 billion, and this year's report shows a positive balance of $147.9 billion.

Report
New York’s Balance of Payments in the Federal Budget: Federal Fiscal Year 2021

Interactive Map with Balance of Payments Breakdown in the United States

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