Transportation Economic Trends
Transportation Public Finance Statistics (TPFS)
Government Transportation Revenues vs. Expenditures
Government transportation revenues, including user fees, transportation related taxes, and general revenues, fund government transportation expenditures on critical activities, like the building of highways and bridges. Government revenues and expenditures do not always match, requiring other sources of revenue.
2022 Year-in-Review (latest available)
- As of June 2024, Transportation Public Finance Statistics (TPFS) replaces the previous Government Transportation Financial Statistics (GTFS). The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) will release preliminary estimates in June in addition to the final annual release in December. This new release increases the timeliness of the statistics by 6 months, reporting preliminary estimates 18 months after the one-year reference period (e.g., data for the 2022 reference period is published in June 2024). The final annual release of TPFS occurs 24 months after the one-year reference period (e.g., data for the 2022 reference period is published December 2024).
- In 2022, total transportation revenue exceeded transportation expenditures, including transfers, by $31.6 billion (current dollars).
- Of total transportation revenues, 58.9 percent ($327.1 billion) came from non-transportation sources (supporting revenue), such as local sales taxes dedicated to transportation in 2022.
- Of total transportation expenditures, excluding transfers, 43.2 percent ($183.0 billion) went to capital expenditures while the rest ($240.3 billion) went to non-capital expenditures.
- The President signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) in November 2021 which dedicates $673.8 billion to transportation between 2022 and 2026. For more information on BIL, visit Statistics on Transportation Funding in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The BTS' TPFS aggregates data from a variety of sources to provide information on transportation-related revenues and expenditures for all levels of government and for all modes of transportation. Data are also available for government transportation expenditures and revenues.
The estimated values include state and local
highway revenues and expenditures. BTS estimates the lagging data using linear
regression. More information on the estimation process can be found in the User Guide and Technical Documentation on the TPFS home page. Once all data are available, BTS will replace all estimated data elements with actual values. BTS will publish the final TPFS in December.
Total Government Transportation Revenues and Expenditures | Revenue and Expenditure Comparison by Mode | Government Transportation Revenues and Expenditures by State
Total Government Transportation Revenues and Expenditures
The graph below allows you to compare transportation revenues and expenditures through several lenses. Use the drop down menu to view revenues and expenditures by transportation mode, level of government, expenditure type (capital or non-capital), trust fund, own-source or supporting revenue, and user-based or other revenue.
Types of expenditure can be broken out into Capital and Non-Capital:
(1) Capital Expenditure: outlays for new equipment and structures and for improving or enhancing the capacity and quality of the existing equipment and structures. The defining feature of capital expenditure is the useful life; capital improvements are intended to last more than one year.
(2) Non-Capital Expenditure: includes operation and maintenance costs, as well as research, administration, and other not capital investment costs that public sector agencies incur in managing transportation systems.
Types of Revenue can be broken out into own-source, supporting, user-based, and other:
(1) Own-Source Revenue: includes user-based revenue and other revenue earned or
directly generated by transportation agencies. Own-source revenue can also have a sub classification of user-based or other.
User-Based Revenue: includes only revenue generated from charges
on users of the mode related to their transportation activity.
Other Revenue: revenue that is not user-based.
(2) Supporting Revenue: is
all other revenue used for transportation purposes, such as general funds or
other government revenues.
Trust fund expenditures are shown at the level where they are spent, so federal trust fund money allocated to state and local governments is shown in state and local expenditures. For additional information and examples of these revenue and expenditure types, visit our User Guide.
Note: Transportation revenues in several years include transfers to Highway Trust Fund from other sources. See Transportation Trust Funds for transfer amount.
Total Government Transportation Revenues and Expenditures | Revenue and Expenditure Comparison by Mode | Government Transportation Revenues and Expenditures by State
Revenue and Expenditure Comparison by Mode
Some modes have more revenues than expenditures, others have more expenditures than revenues. Use the drop down to see how each mode compares.
Total Government Transportation Revenues and Expenditures | Revenue and Expenditure Comparison by Mode | Government Transportation Revenues and Expenditures by State
Government Transportation Revenues and Expenditures by State
States and local governments allocate funds among transportation modes differently because they have diverse geographies and economies, which lead to different transportation needs. For example, urban areas like the District of Columbia and New York devote a large share of total expenditures to transit. In contrast, inland low-density states in the Great Plains, like North Dakota and South Dakota, spend most of their transportation expenditures on highways.
Recommended citation
U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transportation Economic Trends, available at www.bts.gov/product/transportation-economic-trends.
