This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The federal government spends less per resident in Utah than in all but two other states, according to a Census Bureau report released Tuesday.
Utah ranked behind only Minnesota and Nevada in total federal spending per person.
The federal government spent $8,519 per person in Utah in 2010, or 19 percent lower than the national average of $10,460.
Alaska had the highest federal spending per person among the states at $17,762. Nevada had the lowest at $7,321.
For different types of federal spending, Utah ranked dead last in retirement and disability payments per person at $2,180, compared with a national average of $2,935. Utah ranks low because it has the nation's lowest median age, thanks to its many children and larger families, so a lower percentage of its population is retired.
Utah also ranks 40th in federal grant money per person at $1,804, compared with the national average of $2,187.
Utah has a higher ranking for procurement money spent in the state, ranking No. 23 at $1,360 per person. But the national average is still much higher at $1,605.
Utah ranks 21st in local federal payroll at $1,156 — higher than the national average of $1,099.
Utah also ranks 42nd in how much it receives in "other direct payments," such as Medicare and unemployment benefits, at $2,019 per person. The national average is $2,633.