**To read the full report, please click here to download the PDF**

Truth in Accounting has released its tenth annual Financial State of the States report, a nationwide analysis of the most recent state government financial information. This comprehensive analysis of the 50 states’ finances includes the most up-to-date state finance and pension data, trends across the states, and key findings.

States have become more transparent over the last few years, thanks to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles set by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, which now require governments to disclose pension and other post-employment (OPEB) benefits on their balance sheets. If these benefits have not been fully funded, they are considered liabilities, or debt, because they represent money owed to government employees in their retirement.

This year the study found that 40 states do not have enough money to pay all of their bills and in total the states have racked up $1.5 trillion in unfunded state debt. The study ranks the states according to their Taxpayer Burden or Surplus™, which is each taxpayer's share of state bills after available assets have been tapped. 

Here are the rankings (from best to worst): 

Click on the state’s name to learn more about the state’s financial condition on State Data Lab

1. Alaska, $74,200 per taxpayer

2. North Dakota, $30,700

3. Wyoming, $20,800

4. Utah, $5,300

5. Idaho, $2,900

6. Tennessee, $2,800

7. South Dakota, $2,800

8. Nebraska, $2,000

9. Oregon, $1,600

10. Iowa, $700

11. Minnesota, -$200

12. Virginia, -$1,200

13. Oklahoma, -$1,200

14. North Carolina, -$1,300

15. Indiana, -$1,700

16. Florida, -$1,800

17. Montana, -$2,100

18. Arkansas, -$2,300

19. Arizona, -$2,500

20. Nevada, -$3,100

21. Wisconsin, -$3,200

22. Georgia, -$3,500

23. Missouri, -$4,300

24. New Hampshire, -$5,000

25. Ohio, -$6,600

26. Kansas, -$7,000

27. Colorado, -$7,200

28. Washington, -$7,400

29. Maine, -$7,400

30. West Virginia, -$8,300

31. Mississippi, -$10,000

32. Alabama, -$12,000

33. Texas, -$12,100

34. New Mexico, -$13,300

35. Rhode Island, -$13,900

36. South Carolina, -$14,500

37. Maryland, -$15,500

38. Michigan, -$17,000

39. Pennsylvania, -$17,100

40. Louisiana, -$17,700

41. Vermont, -$19,000

42. New York, -$20,500

43. California, -$21,800

44. Kentucky, -$25,700

45. Delaware, -$27,100

46. Hawaii, -$31,200

47. Massachusetts, -$31,200

48. Connecticut, -$51,800

49. Illinois, -$52,600

50. New Jersey, -$65,100

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