Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Latest Data: 2021

This data is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s “Annual State Survey of Government Finances” which gives the state governments’ general expenditures for each function it performs. Hospitals expenditures are defined as “expenditures related to a government’s own hospitals as well as expenditures for the provision of care in other hospitals (public or private) including direct payments for acquisition or construction of hospitals and payments to private corporations that lease and operate government owned hospitals” (U.S. Bureau of the Census Government Finance and Employment Classification Manual, Ch. 5, p. 39).

Hospitals expenditures refers to the total amount spent by the state on hospitals given in millions.

The hospitals expenditures percentage is calculated as the amount spent on hospitals divided by total government expenditures. Hospitals expenditures per capita is calculated as the amount spent on hospitals divided by the state population in the given year.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “Expenditures comprise all amounts of money paid out by a government during its fiscal year, with some exceptions. Statistics on state government finance include measurement of expenditures by character (e.g., current operations, capital outlay, intergovernmental expenditures, and so on) and function (e.g., education, health, public welfare, natural resources, and so on). Expenditure does not include a government's payment of its debt, or purchases of investment securities, loans it has granted, agency or private trust transactions, nor correcting transactions” (State Government Finances Methodology).