Statistics on State and Local Governments
Joseph Dalaker
U.S. Census Bureau
Economy-Wide Statistics Division
Disclaimer: This report is released to inform interested parties of research and to encourage discussion of work in
progress. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Statistics About Governments
 Main purposes
 Provide economic statistics about governments
 Serve as public-sector counterpart to private sector
 Track activity of governments over time
 Response is voluntary
 Public nature of the data
State and Local Government Data: Uses
 Calculation of important economic measures
 GDP: Bureau of Economic Analysis
 Flow of Funds: Federal Reserve Board
 Time series analysis
 Comparative analysis
 Public Policy
 Tax, health, education, welfare, transit, etc.
Governments as Producers
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
Personal
Consumption
68.5%
30%
20%
10%
Private Domestic
Investment
15.8%
Net Exports
-3.0%
0%
-10%
Components of Gross Domestic Product
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Table 1.1.5 Gross Domestic Product 2013
Government
Expenditure
18.7%
7.3% Federal Govt.
11.4% State &
Local Govt.
Governments as Economic Entities
 Governments as employers:
 16.5% of civilian labor force
 2.1% federal government
 14.4% state & local government
 4.0% state government
 10.4% local government
(March 2012)
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012 Current Employment Statistics Survey and U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Census of Governments: Public
Employment and Payroll
Government Statistics in the News
6
History of Statistics on Governments
1790 First
Population
Census
1850 Information collected
in the Decennial Census
included tax levies,
governmental debt, and
wealth, and the number
and types of schools and
their pupils
1840
Decennial
Census
collected some
data on the
number and
types of schools
and pupils
1902 First
comprehensive
compilation of
governmental data
by the new “Census
Office”
1880 Inquiries included
the number of schools,
details about cities
including sewage and
drainage, utilities, and
public services and 105
additional questions that
assessed governments’
financial conditions
1957 First Census of
Governments focusing
on four major areas of
data collection
-Governmental
Organization
-Taxable Property
Values
-Employment
-Finances
1950 Congress
enacted
legislation which
provided that a
“Census of
Governments” be
taken every 5
years, for years
ending in “2” and
“7” (Title 13,
Section 161, U.S.
Code)
2012
Census of
Governments
Census Bureau’s Statistics on Governments
Statistics on Governments
Frequency
Survey/Program
Data Available For:
Data Items Included
Sponsoring Agency
Number of Units, Employment,
Finance, etc.
Census Bureau
Functions performed,
authorizing legislation, etc.
Census Bureau
Employment, wages, etc.
Census Bureau
Revenue, expenditures, etc.
Census Bureau
X
Revenue, expenditures, etc.
Census Bureau/NCES
X
X
Contributions, assets, etc.
Census Bureau
X
X
X
Revenue, expenditures, debt,
assets
Census Bureau
Annual Survey of State Government Tax
Collections
X
X
Tax revenue
Census Bureau
Quarterly Survey of Public Pensions
X
Contributions, assets, etc.
Census Bureau
Quarterly Summary of State and Local
Government Tax Revenues
X
Tax revenue
Census Bureau
US
State
County
Census of Governments
X
X
X
Government Units Survey
X
Annual Survey of Public Employment and
Payroll
X
X
Annual Survey of State Government Finances
X
X
Annual Survey of School System Finances
X
X
Annual Survey of Public Pensions
X
Annual Survey of Local Government Finances
Every 5 Years
Annual
Quarterly
X
X
Census of Governments
 First conducted in 1957
 Conducted every 5 years – ending 2 & 7
 Content:
 Counts & structure of governments
 Employment measures
 Financial measures
Census vs. Annual Surveys
• Content is the same
• Number of governments surveyed is different
State and Local Government Data Collection Methods
•
•
•
•
Mail canvass
Electronic reporting - Centurion & Harvester
Central collection - paper & electronic
Compilations
Content
 Government Organization
 Government Finances
 Public Employment and Payroll
Government Organization




Why is understanding government structure important?
What is included and what isn’t?
How are basic services provided?
Which comparisons are valid?
Defining a Government
Three criteria for defining a government:
 Existence as an organized entity
 Governmental character
 Substantial autonomy
 Fiscal independence
 Administrative independence
Governmental Structure
 Core government
Executive, legislative, and sometimes judicial
 Dependent agencies
 Jointly governed activities
Types of
Governments
90,106
Government
Organizations
Measured and Defined
90,056
50
Local
Governments
State
Governments
38,910
51, 146
General Purpose
Governments
Special Purpose
Governments
3,031
19,519
16,360
38,266
Counties
Cities
Townships
Special Districts
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Census of Governments
12,880
Independent
School Districts
Examples
Government
 Airport authorities
 Cities
 Counties
 Sanitary districts
 States
Non-Government
 Homeowners’
associations
 Most charter schools
Many services can be provided either by governments or by
private entities – what matters is how the entity is organized,
whether it has governmental character, and whether it has
substantial autonomy.
Differences in Governmental Structure Among States
State
County
Governments
City
Governments
Township
Governments
Special District
Governments
School District
Governments
Alabama
67
461
0
548
132
Connecticut
0
30
149
447
17
Georgia
153
535
0
510
180
Indiana
91
569
1,006
752
291
New York
57
614
929
1,174
679
Texas
254
1,214
0
2,600
1,079
Washington
39
281
0
1,285
295
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Census of Governments
Number of Local Governments: United States
The Evolving Picture of
our Governments
1952
1982
2012
116,694
82,290
90,056
Counties
4%
Counties
3%
Total Number of
Governments
Source: 1952, 1982, & 2012 Census of
Governments
Counties
2%
Government Finances




Revenue by type
Expenditure by character & function
Debt by term
Cash and securities by type of holding
 Data products by:
 topic (tax collections, public schools, pension systems)
 level of government (state, local, state and local combined)
Finance Data are Nested
State Tax
State Finance
Data
Public Pension
Data
Public Education
Data
State and
Local Finance
Data
Sources of Tax Revenue – Variety Among States
Percent Distribution of State Government Tax Revenue
Percent Distribution of State Government Tax Revenue
Total %
Sales Total
General
Sales
Selective
Sales
License
Income
Taxes Total Taxes Total
Individual Corporation All Other
Income
Income
Taxes Total
Property
Taxes
Other Taxes
U.S. Average
100
46.4
30.1
16.3
6.6
41.9
36.6
5.3
5 .2
1.6
3.6
Alabama
100
50.8
25.2
25.6
5.3
38.7
34.6
4.1
5.2
3.5
1.7
Alaska
100
4.9
X
4.9
2.6
12.3
X
12.3
85.2
1.9
78.3
Delaware
100
14.6
X
14.6
37.6
43.0
33.8
9.3
4.8
X
4.8
Florida
100
82.5
60.1
22.4
5.8
6.0
X
6.0
5.8
>.01
5.8
Indiana
100
60.8
40.1
20.7
4.1
34.0
29.4
4.6
3.6
.04
3.6
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2013 Survey of State Government Tax Collections
Government Employment





Full-time employees
Full-time gross payroll
Part-time employees
Part-time gross payroll
Computed FTE
State & Local Government Employment,
U.S. Total and Alabama
Percentage of Employees by Government Function
57.0
51.9
Education
Public safety
Social services & income maintenance
General administration
Environment & housing
Other
Transportation
Utilities
11.1
9.6
11.1
18.8
6.5
5.7
4.9
4.9
3.8
3.2
3.0
3.8
2.6
2.1
U.S.
Alabama
SOURCE: 2012 Census of Governments: Employment
www.census.gov/govs
Reimbursable Programs
Reimbursable Programs
Frequency
Every 5
Years
Biennial
Annual
Biannual
Survey/Program
Data Available For:
US State County Place
Data Items Included
Census of State and Federal Adult Correctional
Facilities (Prison Census)
X
X
Census of Jail Inmates
X
X
Academic Libraries Survey
X
X
Expenditures, staffing, circulation, etc.
Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement
Juvenile Residential Facility Survey
Survey of Government Research and
Development Expenditures
Annual Survey of Jails
Criminal Justice Expenditure and Employment
Survey
Annual Survey of School System Finances
Federal Audit Clearinghouse
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - Public
X
X
X
X
Demographic, offense, etc.
Facility characteristics
NCES (Dept. of
Education)
OJJDP (DOJ)
OJJDP (DOJ)
X
X
Type of R&D, funding, etc.
NSF
Jails and inmates
BJS (DOJ)
Finance and employment
BJS (DOJ)
Revenue, expenditures, etc.
Finance
Health plans, premiums, benefits, and enrollment
National Public Education Financial Survey
Census Bureau/NCES
OMB
AHRQ
NCES (Dept. of
Education)
NCES (Dept. of
Education)
NCES (Dept. of
Education)
IMLS
BJS (DOJ)
X
X
X
X
X
X
Staffing, facility size, capacity, programs offered, basic
prisoner information
Staffing, facility size, capacity, programs offered,
inmate characteristics
Sponsoring Agency
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Revenue, expenditures
X
X
Directory, membership, teachers, staff, dropouts,
graduates
X
X
Demographic and geographic support
X
X
X
X
National Prisoner Statistics 8
X
X
Teacher Compensation Survey*
X
X
Salaries, expenditures, degree earned, etc.
National Prisoner Statistics 1B
X
X
Characteristics of population
School Attendance Boundary Survey
X
X
Geographic school boundaries
Common Core of Data Non-fiscal
Education Demographic and Geographic
Estimates
Public Libraries Survey
Survey of Sexual Violence
X
Circulation, visits, staffing, etc.
Allegations, demographics
Characteristics of persons under sentence of death and
of execution
BJS (DOJ)
BJS (DOJ)
BJS (DOJ)
NCES (Dept. of
Education)
BJS (DOJ)
NCES (Dept. of
Education)
Reimbursable Surveys
 Follow the survey life cycle
 Differences
 Contract negotiation
 Collection content determined by sponsor
 Deliverables content and date set by sponsor
 Follow sponsor’s statistical and publication standards
 Funding comes from sponsor
 Sponsoring agency releases the data
Conclusion
 The Census Bureau collects information on state and
local governments including their characteristics,
finances, and employment.
 The Census Bureau also collects information for other
agencies on topics including libraries, education, and
criminal justice.
Questions?
Thank you!
Joseph Dalaker
Section Chief
Data User Outreach and Education Branch
Economy-Wide Statistics Division
U.S. Census Bureau
1-800-242-2184
govs.cms.inquiry@census.gov