Budget Explorer · State of California
Comparable revenue, spending, and debt for California's state government, on the same Census classification used for all fifty states and every city and county in the Library. Transfers to local governments and school districts are broken out, since for most states they are the single largest line. Latest year: FY ending Jun 30, 2024.
Total revenue
$517.3B
$13,253 per resident
Total spending
$522.8B
$13,396 per resident
Spending per resident
$13,396
89th percentile of 50
Debt outstanding
$163.7B
$4,195 per resident · 77th percentile of 50
Own-source share
71%
87th percentile of 50
Capital share
3%
3rd percentile of 50
Own-source revenue (taxes, charges, interest) versus aid from other governments. Utility and trust revenue are shown alongside general revenue but run on their own books.
Own-source share of general revenue 71% · federal aid 28% · property tax is 1% of taxes
Current operations plus capital outlay, grouped by Census function. Interest on debt and transfers to other governments are broken out so they are not hidden inside services.
| Function | Category | Operating | Capital | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public welfare | Public welfare | $156.1B | — | $156.1B |
| Higher education | Education | $40.7B | $4.00B | $44.7B |
| Hospitals | Health & hospitals | $22.1B | $3.07B | $25.2B |
| Corrections (institutions) | Public safety | $12.1B | $516M | $12.6B |
| Highways | Transportation | $5.78B | $6.27B | $12.0B |
| Natural resources | Environment & housing | $8.40B | $614M | $9.02B |
| Financial administration | General government | $7.79B | $95M | $7.89B |
| Education assistance & subsidies | Education | $7.82B | — | $7.82B |
| Protective inspection & regulation | Public safety | $5.00B | — | $5.00B |
| Higher education (auxiliary) | Education | $3.77B | $523M | $4.29B |
| K-12 education | Education | $3.95B | — | $3.95B |
| Health | Health & hospitals | $3.80B | — | $3.80B |
| Police protection | Public safety | $2.89B | $306M | $3.20B |
| General (unallocable) | General government | $3.16B | — | $3.16B |
Nominal dollars. The Census Bureau cautions that single-government series are edited only for aggregates — read direction, not decimals.
Revenue
+3% over 2 yrs
$502.3B → $517.3B
Spending
+10% over 2 yrs
$476.9B → $522.8B
Debt outstanding
+4% over 2 yrs
$157.8B → $163.7B
Percentile within the cohort on each place's latest Census year. Higher is not better — the last column says what a high reading means so you can decide whether it matters here.
| Measure | California | Cohort median | Percentile | Higher means |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spending per resident | $13,396 | $9,466 | 89th | more spent per resident |
| Revenue per resident | $13,253 | $9,800 | 83rd | more raised per resident |
| Taxes per resident | $6,803 | $4,114 | 93rd | heavier own-tax load |
| Debt per resident | $4,195 | $3,139 | 77th | more borrowed per resident |
| Own-source share of revenue | 71% | 64% | 87th | less dependent on aid |
| Federal aid share of revenue | 28% | 35% | 11th | more exposed to federal cuts |
| Capital share of spending | 3% | 7% | 3rd | more building, less operating |
| Interest share of spending | 1% | 1% | 49th | more spend servicing debt |
| Debt ÷ annual revenue | 0.32× | 0.29× | 55th | more leveraged |
Spot an error, or know a better source for this place's adopted budget? Suggest an edit on the assessment.
For how this shapes what California and its cities can deliver — preemption posture, revenue authority, the binding constraint — see the California state profile.
The Civic Infrastructure Diagnostic Framework’s structural elements — the four cluster labels, the six capacity dimensions, and the binding-constraint framing — are licensed under CC BY 4.0. Anyone may use or adapt them with attribution. Tool implementation and full article text © 2026 JTV Advisory LLC.