New York's state taxes and spending remain significantly higher than those in most states, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau show.
New York State spent $6,892 per resident in fiscal 2004, 43.7 percent more than the average of all states. That figure was third-highest among the 50 states, behind Alaska and Wyoming.
New York's spending was higher than most states' in a variety of areas:
- Public welfare, including Medicaid: an average of $2,134 per capita, 84 percent above the national average.
- Education: $1,626 per capita, 11 percent above average.
- Health and hospitals: $472 per person, 54 percent above average.
- Employee salaries and wages: $728 per capita, 15 percent above average.
- Government administration: $221 per person, 45 percent above average.
- Debt service: $205 per capita, 74 percent above average.
Spending on police protection was relatively high in New York, while that on highways was relatively low, compared to per-capita figures in other states. Expenditures on corrections, and on parks and natural resources, were similar to those nationwide on a per-capita basis.
The state collected an average of $2,377 in taxes per person, 17.3 percent above the national average and 11th-highest in the nation. New York's personal-income tax was especially high compared to those elsewhere, at 89 percent above average on a per-capita basis.
The new Census Bureau data do not include local governments' or school districts' spending and taxes. The latest such figures, for fiscal 2002, show New York's combined state and local taxes are the highest in the nation.
The Census Bureau's latest data on state governments' spending and taxes are available at http://www.census.gov/govs/www/state04.html.