State government

West Virginia's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), West Virginia took in $18.6 billion and spent $19.2 billion.

Latest recorded year: ended June 30, 2024Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

Federal tax money40%State taxes38%Fines and other11%Fees for services (college tuition, university housing and dining)11%Local tax money0.5%

What stands out

11%

of West Virginia's money comes from interest, rents and other revenue.A typical state government gets 7.3%.

State taxes38%

Other taxes
13%$2.43 billion
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; motor fuel taxes and 17 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$732 million
  • Motor fuel taxes$445 million
  • Severance taxes$422 million
  • Driver's licenses$204 million
  • Insurance premium taxes$199 million
  • Tobacco taxes$153 million
  • Public utility taxes$132 million
  • Amusement taxes$43.5 million
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$21.0 million
  • Alcoholic beverage taxes$20.3 million
  • Hunting and fishing licenses$13.7 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$13.2 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$12.3 million
  • Other licenses$5.9 million
  • Motor vehicle licenses$5.3 million
  • Amusement licenses$3.5 million
  • Corporation licenses$2.0 million
  • Alcoholic beverage licenses$1.7 million
  • Public utility licenses$512 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Individual income tax
12%$2.27 billion
Sales tax
9.8%$1.82 billion
Business income tax
2.5%$465 million
Property tax
<0.1%$9.3 million

Fees for services11%

Fees for services
11%$1.98 billion
What's in fees for servicesCollege tuition; other service charges and 13 more
  • College tuition$641 million
  • Other service charges$559 million
  • University housing and dining$217 million
  • Tolls on roads and bridges$180 million
  • Liquor stores$135 million
  • Hospital bills$83.8 million
  • Parks, land and natural resources$48.6 million
  • Parks and recreation$43.3 million
  • Road charges$33.3 million
  • Other education charges$14.9 million
  • Sewer$10.1 million
  • Housing$10.0 million
  • Garbage collection$1.7 million
  • Airport$1.4 million
  • Transit fares$1.3 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money40%

Grants from Washington, paid for by the federal taxes residents also pay.

From the federal government
40%$7.51 billion

Local tax money0.5%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From local governments
0.5%$100 million

Fines and other11%

Interest, rents and other
11%$2.03 billion
Fines
<0.1%$6.2 million

Where it goes

Social services33%Sent to local governments19%Schools and colleges15%Roads, transit and parking11%Running the government and other costs8.9%All other spending13%

What stands out

11%

of West Virginia's spending goes to roads, transit and parking.A typical state government spends 6.7%.

Spending by category100%

Social services
33%$6.29 billion
What's in social servicesOther public welfare; unemployment and social insurance offices and 2 more
  • Other public welfare$6.23 billion
  • Unemployment and social insurance offices$26.7 million
  • Veterans' services$18.2 million
  • Welfare institutions$12.8 million
Sent to local governments
19%$3.69 billion
What's in sent to local governmentsSent to school districts; sent to local governments: other and not broken out and 14 more
  • Sent to school districts$2.97 billion
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$178 million
  • Sent to local governments: general support$176 million
  • Sent to local governments: public health$167 million
  • Sent to local governments: natural resources, farming and conservation$59.8 million
  • Sent to local governments: other public welfare$52.1 million
  • Sent to local governments: housing and community development$31.2 million
  • Sent to local governments: police$20.4 million
  • Sent to local governments: other education$12.3 million
  • Sent to local governments: parks and recreation$7.0 million
  • Sent to local governments: finance, tax collection and budgeting$5.5 million
  • Sent to local governments: roads and highways$5.4 million
  • Sent to local governments: garbage and solid waste$1.4 million
  • Sent to local governments: central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$723 thousand
  • Sent to local governments: prisons and jails$1 thousand
  • Sent to local governments: hospitals$1 thousand
Schools and colleges
15%$2.95 billion
What's in schools and collegesColleges and universities; other education and 3 more
  • Colleges and universities$1.60 billion
  • Other education$379 million
  • Scholarships and other education subsidies$366 million
  • Elementary and secondary schools$357 million
  • College housing, dining and bookstores$250 million
Roads, transit and parking
11%$2.16 billion
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; toll roads and bridges and 2 more
  • Roads and highways$2.00 billion
  • Toll roads and bridges$142 million
  • Public transit$13.6 million
  • Airports$3.1 million
Running the government and other costs
8.9%$1.71 billion
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$998 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$443 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$184 million
  • Government buildings$82.7 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
5.3%$1.01 billion
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPrisons and jails; courts and legal services and 3 more
  • Prisons and jails$488 million
  • Courts and legal services$288 million
  • Police$132 million
  • Inspections and regulation$90.1 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$14.6 million
Health and hospitals
2.9%$555 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health and hospitals
  • Public health$301 million
  • Hospitals$255 million
Environment and natural resources
1.5%$290 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$290 million
Interest on debt
1.5%$288 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
0.7%$127 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$117 million
  • Libraries$10.6 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
0.6%$124 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesLiquor stores; garbage and solid waste and 1 more
  • Liquor stores$108 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$11.7 million
  • Sewer systems$4.3 million
Housing and community development
0.2%$31.3 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

State of West Virginia. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended June 30, 2024.

What this covers. The money of State of West Virginia itself. Other governments that serve the same area (the city, county, school district and state) are separate and not included. Borrowing, transfers between a government's own funds, and pension trust funds are not counted as revenue.

Counties55 counties, A to Z
Cities and towns231 cities, towns and townships, A to Z
School districts66 school districts, A to Z