10 states most reliant on federal funding

2. Kentucky
Buildings in Louisville, Kentucky.
Louisville, Kentucky. Alexey Stiop/Shutterstock
State residents' dependency rank: 5

State government's dependency rank: 7

Thanks to the $3.45 in federal funding the state receives for every $1 residents pay in taxes, Kentucky was found to be the second-most federally dependent state.

Another large contributor was that 44% of Kentucky's revenue consisted of federal funding.


4. Mississippi
Courthouse and buildings in Jackson, Mississippi.
Jackson, Mississippi. Matt Gush/Shutterstock
State residents' dependency rank: 8

State government's dependency rank: 8

WalletHub found that Mississippi had the lowest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the United States, a metric that correlates with the level of dependency on federal funding. West Virginia and Arkansas had the second- and third-lowest GDP per capita, respectively.


5. Louisiana
Buildings in New Orleans, Louisiana.
New Orleans, Louisiana. Agnieszka Gaul/Shutterstock
State residents' dependency rank: 22

State government's dependency rank: 1

Louisiana's residents' federal dependency ranking is largely due to the state's relatively few federal jobs. Of the state's 2.1 million civilian workers, roughly 19,400 were in the federal workforce as of 2024, according to the US Congress.


6. South Carolina
Bridge in Charleston, South Carolina.
Charleston, South Carolina. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
State residents' dependency rank: 6

State government's dependency rank: 21

WalletHub also named South Carolina as among the states with low GDP per capita.


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