October 17, 2002

Per Capita Federal Expenditures Increase 10 Percent in North Dakota

Per capita federal expenditures to North Dakotans reached $9,262 in 2001, up 10.3 percent from 2000 after adjusting for inflation.

According to the latest Economic Brief released from the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University, North Dakota ranked third in the nation in per capita federal expenditures in 2001 behind Alaska and Virginia. The percentage increase in adjusted per capita Federal dollars between 2000 and 2001 was the sixth largest increase among all states. The vast majority of the increase was to farmers in the form of agricultural program payments and crop insurance.

Federal expenditures to North Dakota totaled $5.9 billion in 2001. Although the bulk of the increase went to farmers, the largest proportion of the total, 22.7 percent, was paid directly to individuals for Federal retirement (the bulk of which is Social Security) and disability payments - down slightly from 24.3 percent in 2000.

"North Dakota’s growing senior population is contributing significantly to our state’s economy. Income generated through Social Security represents a growing pool of revenues, especially in the rural counties of our state," said Richard Rathge, director of the State Data Center.

Approximately 40 percent of federal expenditures to North Dakota were categorized as "Other Direct Payments." Agricultural program payments captured approximately 92 percent of the "other" federal expenditures or 26 percent of total federal expenditures to North Dakota at $1.5 billion. Slightly more than half of the agricultural program payments went to feed grain stabilization and an additional fourth went to crop insurance.

Federal grants account for nearly 22 percent ($1.3 billion) of all Federal expenditures coming to the state in 2001. Grant funds represent the Federal obligation incurred at the time the grant was awarded and not actual expenditures. Medicaid was the single largest grant program at $314 million followed by highway construction at $206 million and crop disaster at $140 million.

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Source: Richard Rathge, (701) 231-8621, richard.rathge@ndsu.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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