How federally dependent is Missouri? See how it compares to other states in new study
Businesses in Kansas City are beginning to feel impacts from changes that President Donald Trump’s administration is making, from cuts to the federal workforce to newly imposed tariffs.
Local brewery Kansas City Bier Company said it now has to pay the import tax before it received its equipment in a message from one of their Canadian distributors.
“...You, as the recipient, will be responsible for covering any applicable import duties before delivery,” a company representative for Cask Global Canning Solutions wrote. “Your order will be held in bond until the tariff is paid.”
KC Bier Co.’s new reality is just one way residents in Missouri and across the United States may feel the burn of these federal government shifts.
The KC region is also a hub for federal employees, with over 30,000 people working for The Internal Revenue Service, Veterans Affairs, Social Security Administration and other departments, which are all facing potential reductions. The IRS campus near Union Station already fired some 100 workers last month.
Some states can be considered more federally dependent based on a myriad of factors. The personal finance site WalletHub analyzed each state and its relationship with the federal government to rank the most and least federally dependent states.
States can receive federal aid for various reasons, like relief during natural disasters and health crises, and funding support for education, transportation, infrastructure and health care. While some states receive more aid than others, WalletHub said its analysis compares it to the assistance to the state’s revenue and the federal taxes the government receives from state residents.
“For every dollar residents of the top states pay in taxes, they get several dollars back in federal funding, which often leads to higher-quality infrastructure, education, public health and more,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo stated in a press release.
Here’s how Missouri compares to the rest of the United States.
How federally dependent is Missouri?
Missouri was ranked the 18th most federally dependent state in the country, according to WalletHub. The state finished with a total score of 51.18.
The ranking is based on three key metrics: return on taxes to the federal government, share of federal jobs and the share of federal funding as state revenue. Missouri ranked eighth on the list for the state government’s dependency on the federal government, but 36th on state resident’s dependency. The smaller the number is, the more dependent the state is, WalletHub says.
Kansas ranked as the sixth least dependent state in the country. The state placed 43rd on the list for the state government’s dependency on the federal government and 33rd on state residents’ dependency.
Federal dependency ranking methodology
To determine the ranking, WalletHub used three primary metrics and gave each metric a weight, adding up to 100. All 50 states were analyzed using these metrics, and given a score out of 100.
WalletHub says this was done in order to contextualize the federal money coming into each state. The return on taxes paid to the federal government was calculated by dividing federal funding by IRS collections, according to WalletHub.
Federal funding as a share of state revenue was calculated using the proportion of state revenue from intergovernmental aid in 2022. All other statistics used reflect 2024 or 2023.
