Please note: This analysis, Funding From Federal Grants Varies as a Share of State Budgets, was updated on Sept. 21, 2015.
States receive federal grants to help fund programs in areas ranging from education to transportation to health care. Federal grants accounted for an average of 31.6 percent of total state revenue in state fiscal year 2012, but states’ reliance on this revenue source varies widely. At about 45 percent, Mississippi had the largest share of revenue from federal grants, while Alaska had the smallest at 20 percent.