Which U.S. states get the most federal funding per capita in 2024–2025?
Executive summary
Virginia leads in net federal funding per resident at $10,301 per person, according to World Population Review’s 2025 state-level summary [1]. Other measures show different leaders by metric: Alaska and the District of Columbia received the most federal grant dollars per capita in FY2023 ($6,562 and $6,862 respectively, per FFIS) while USAFacts reports Virginians received about $89 billion more from the federal government than they paid in FY2024 [2] [3].
1. What “most federal funding per capita” can mean — three different measures
“Most federal funding per capita” is not a single statistic; reporting varies by what’s counted. World Population Review reports net federal funding per resident (money received minus taxes paid) and puts Virginia at $10,301 per resident [1]. FFIS reports federal grants per capita (formula grants and many program allocations) and shows the highest levels for Washington, D.C. ($6,862) and Alaska ($6,562) in FY2023 [2]. USAFacts focuses on flows and balances for FY2024 and highlights Alaska as receiving the most per person — about $24,796 — driven in part by tribal and Indian Health Service agreements [3]. Each metric answers a different policy question; none alone settles “which state benefits most.”
2. The headline names: Virginia, Alaska, D.C. — why they appear at the top
Virginia shows up as a leader in net-return measures largely because its large federal contracting and defense presence creates big federal outlays there while its tax contributions are comparatively lower on a per-person basis (World Population Review) [1]. Alaska and Washington, D.C. top grant-per-capita lists because small populations plus concentrated federal programs (including tribal health and federal grants in Alaska, and heavy federal spending and grant activity in D.C.) inflate per-person averages [2] [3]. USAFacts explicitly flags Alaska’s $24,796 per-person receipt in FY2024 and notes the outsized role of Indian Health Service agreements [3].
3. Numbers move depending on time frame and what’s excluded (COVID, SNAP, Pell)
Analysts caution that single-year spikes reflect one-time relief or formula changes. World Population Review notes COVID relief skewed 2021–2022 comparisons for large states [1]. FFIS’s FY2023 per-capita grant analysis excludes SNAP and Pell grants because those flow directly to individuals rather than state governments, which changes rankings [2]. Rockefeller Institute and other trackers also show year-to-year shifts; Axios reported the Rockefeller Institute’s balance-of-payments figures for 2022 that put some high-income states at large negative balances [4]. Exact rankings for 2024–2025 thus depend on whether recent pandemic-era funds and certain individual-directed programs are counted [1] [2] [4].
4. Geographic and policy drivers behind high per-capita receipts
States with federal installations, military bases, large tribal populations, remote infrastructure needs, or high Medicaid enrollment tend to get more per person. Pew’s overview notes Medicaid accounted for 68.8% of total federal grants to states in FY2024 and is the largest source of federal funding in nearly every state, which boosts per-capita receipts where program enrollment is high [5]. Alaska’s high per-capita receipts are explained by sparse population, high infrastructure costs, and federal health and tribal contracts [6] [3]. Virginia’s defense-contract and federal-employee footprint drives large net receipts [1] [7].
5. Political and narrative uses — why the numbers get weaponized
Different stakeholders pick measures that fit an argument. “Donor state” narratives stress net outflows (taxes paid minus receipts) to argue some states subsidize others, while state officials in high-receipt states point to federal investments that support local jobs and critical services [1] [7]. The CalBudgetCenter analysis (noting methodological differences across years) and Axios coverage of Rockefeller Institute data show how framing (with/without COVID funds, which years) alters conclusions and can be used to justify policy changes [1] [4].
6. Reliable next steps to verify 2024–2025 rankings
Available sources point to multiple primary datasets: USAspending.gov and FFIS for grants data; Rockefeller Institute and USAFacts for balance-of-payments and net flows [8] [2] [3] [9]. To answer “which states get the most federal funding per capita in 2024–2025” precisely, compare (a) federal grants per capita (FFIS), (b) net federal funding per resident (World Population Review’s computed balance), and (c) OMB/USAFacts balance-of-payments for FY2024 — and explicitly state whether COVID-era relief and individual-directed programs (SNAP/Pell) are included [2] [1] [3].
Limitations and transparency: available sources do not mention a single authoritative “2024–2025 per-capita ranking” that unambiguously covers all federal outlays and tax flows; different reputable datasets produce different state leaders depending on definitions [2] [1] [3]. Use the metric that matches your question — net balance, grant dollars to states, or total federal dollars received — and cite the underlying dataset when making claims [2] [1] [3].