Revenues

Overview
Visualizations (3)
Data

Description:

An annual time series of state and local government revenues produced by the U.S. Census Bureau goes back to fiscal year 1961, but the focus in Arizona Indicators is the period since the early 1990s. The data are reported for fiscal years; for example, fiscal year 2008 ran from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008. The latest data typically lag two-to-three years behind.

The government finance data are collected from a census of all governments in years ending in ‘2’ and ‘7.’ In the other years, information is collected from each state government and from a sample of local governments. Only “general” revenues of state and local governments are collected; publicly run utilities, liquor stores, and insurance trust programs, such as employee retirement systems, are excluded.

In order to compare revenues over time, the effects of inflation, population growth, and per capita economic growth must be considered. Reporting revenues per $1,000 of personal income automatically adjusts for all three factors. The fiscal year average (the average of the four quarters of the fiscal year) of personal income is used to standardize the public finance data.

Data Source:

Revenues are reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/govs/estimate/. Personal income is estimated quarterly by state by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis http://www.bea.gov/regional/sqpi/default.cfm?selTable=SQ1.

Data Quality Comments:

The Census Bureau did not release state and local government finance data by state for fiscal years 2001 and 2003; interpolated figures for these years are shown in the charts. In noncensus years, the Census Bureau data are subject to sampling error. In all years, the data are subject to misreporting by state and local governments and to misunderstandings between the Census Bureau and state and local governments regarding the differing accounting systems used.

Some of the inputs to the calculation of personal income by state are estimated. Personal income estimates are subject to revision. Personal income is a comprehensive measure of the economy but has conceptual limitations when employed to adjust public revenues and expenditures.

Revenues Per $1,000 of Personal Income, Arizona State and Local Governments

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Visualization Notes:

Due to the real estate driven economic boom, public revenues in Arizona increased during fiscal years 2006 through 2008. Excluding this cyclical high, own-source revenues relative to the size of the economy were at least 10 percent lower during the 2000s than in the early 1990s. In contrast, intergovernmental revenues from the federal government per $1,000 of personal income were higher than in the early 1990s; the increase between fiscal years 1992 and 2008 was 35 percent.

Revenues Per $1,000 of Personal Income, Rank, Arizona State and Local Governments

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Visualization Notes:

In the early 1990s, own-source revenues relative to the size of the economy ranked higher than the median state in Arizona. Since fiscal year 1996, Arizona has ranked no higher than 14th lowest. In contrast, intergovernmental revenues from the federal government have gone from a rank below the national median to about the median.

Revenues Per $1,000 of Personal Income as a Percentage of the National Average, Arizona State and Local Governments

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Visualization Notes:

Own-source revenues relative to the size of the economy were at or slightly above the national average in the early 1990s in Arizona, but have ranged from 5 to 10 percent below average since fiscal year 1996. Intergovernmental revenues from the federal government were roughly 5 percent below average during the 1990s but have been above average since fiscal year 2003.