NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

September 24, 1998

North Dakota State Government Expenditures Rank 14^th in 1997

Per capita state government expenditures of $3,784 in 1997 ranked North Dakota 14^th in per capita spending among all states in the nation, according to a recent "Economic Brief" from the State Data Center at North Dakota State University. North Dakota state government expenditures totaled $2.4 billion in 1997, a 17.5-percent increase from 1996.

"The high ranking is good news for our state because it signals a willingness on the part of legislators to spend revenues on necessary services and infrastructure," said Richard Rathge, data center director. "The high ranking also reflects the sparsely populated nature of our state. Wyoming is the least populated state in the nation and ranks fourth in per capita spending while Alaska ranks 48^th in population size and first in per capita spending."

The largest portion of North Dakota's 1997 budget was spent on education, $773 million or 31.9 percent. Although a sizable portion of the state budget is dedicated to education, the geographic size of North Dakota, combined with a low student population base, makes the per-pupil expenditure relatively low. In 1996 North Dakota ranked 43^rd in the nation for per-pupil expenditures for K-12 public education ($4,785) and 41^st for higher education, $3,856.

The distribution of state funding for education has slipped during the past 15 years, dropping from 37.7 percent in 1982 to 31.9 percent in 1997. In contrast, state spending for public welfare increased from 9 percent to 19 percent during this period. Public welfare expenditures in 1997 were $705 per capita, slightly below the national level.

Also in 1997, North Dakota ranked 10^th in the nation for per capita state highway expenditures, fourth for per capita natural resource expenditures, 48^th for per capita police protection and 50^th for per capita corrections expenditures.

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Source: Richard Rathge (701) 231-8621

Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136

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