Federal Grants to States Rose 42% Over the Last 11 Years

Note: These data have been updated. The latest information is available here. 

Overview

Federal grants to states are 42 percent higher overall, after adjusting for inflation, than they were when the Great Recession began in 2008, but the growth has not been steady. Federal stimulus aid to states resulted in a spike during and immediately after the recession, with total grants increasing by 55 percent in the first year after passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. By 2013, however, that temporary aid had been nearly phased out, and grant dollars declined nearly 30 percent from the 2009 peak. Then, in 2014, federal grants to states began climbing again, and they remain well above pre-recession levels. Medicaid spending increases are the main drivers of this upward trend; funding for other programs, such as education and transportation, has been declining relative to 2008 levels. (See "Health Care Has Dominated Federal Spending Choices for More Than a Decade.")