Transportation Economic Trends
Government Transportation Revenues and Expenditures:
Government Transportation Revenues vs. Expenditures
Historically, government transportation revenues collected from transportation sources fall short of government transportation expenditures creating a need for additional funding sources.
2020 Year-in-Review (latest available)
- Transportation expenditures exceeded total transportation revenues (own-source and supporting) by $36.3 billion in 2020.
- Of total transportation revenues, 45.9 percent came from non-transportation sources, such as local sales taxes dedicated to transportation in 2020.
- 2020 marks the onset of the first COVID-19 emergency funding package, the CARES Act. For more information on COVID-19 transportation funds, visit COVID-19 Stimulus Funding for Transportation.
Total Government Transportation Revenues and Expenditures | Government Transportation Revenues and Expenditures by State
Total Government Transportation Revenues and Expenditures
Revenues collected from
transportation-related activity and dedicated to transportation programs
(own-source revenue) historically falls short of government transportation expenditures. Funds collected from
non-transportation-related activities but dedicated to support transportation
programs (supporting revenue), e.g., receipts received by state and local governments from
sales or property taxes, help finance the gap between own-source government transportation revenues and government transportation expenditures.
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 | Government Transportation Revenues and Expenditure 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.
