Wisconsin would need $6.7 billion to pay all of its bills, including public employers’ pension benefits, according to a new ranking of the states’ fiscal health based on pre-pandemic data.
Wisconsin ranked 23rd among the 50 states on fiscal health, according to the analysis by Truth in Accounting (TIA), which is a Chicago-based nonprofit that reports on fiscal data from state and local governments.
The amount of the state’s shortfall in funding to pay off its bills amounts to $3,100 per taxpayer, the study found.
The TIA gave the state a financial grade of “C.” The TIA analysis, which found that 39 states lacked the money to pay off all of their bills, used data from comprehensive annual financial reports from the fiscal year 2019.
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2020 State Rankings on Fiscal Health
RankStateTaxpayer Surplus / Taxpayer BurdenMoney Available / Needed to Pay Bills Grade1Alaska$77,400$21 billionA2North Dakota$37,700$10.7 billionA3Wyoming$19,600$4 billionA4Utah$5,500$5.4 billionB5Tennessee$3,400$7.1 billionB6South Dakota$3,300$1 billionB7Nebraska$2,800$1.9 billionB8Idaho$2,800$1.5 billionB9Oregon$2,600$3.8 billionB10Iowa$1,500$1.6 billionB11Minnesota$100$115.5 millionB12Oklahoma-$700-$764.3 millionC13Virginia-$800-$2.5 billionC14Indiana-$1,300-$2.9 billionC15North Carolina-$1,400-$4.6 billionC16Florida-$1,600-$11.3 billionC17Arkansas-$1,700-$1.4 billionC18Arizona-$1,700-$3.7 billionC19Montana-$2,000-$738.2 millionC20Colorado-$2,600-$5.4 billionC21Nevada-$2,600-$2.7 billionC22Georgia-$2,900-$8.8 billionC23Wisconsin-$3,100-$6.7 billionC24New Hampshire-$3,900-$2.2 billionC25Missouri-$4,300-$8.4 billionC26Ohio-$5,800-$23.8 billionD27Washington-$6,100-$17.2 billionD28Kansas-$6,200-$5.9 billionD29West Virginia-$6,300-$3.3 billionD30Maine-$6,700-$3.3 billionD31New Mexico-$7,500-$4.5 billionD32Alabama-$7,600-$10.3 billionD33Mississippi-$10,400-$7.7 billionD34Texas-$11,300-$96.7 billionD35South Carolina-$13,400-$20.8 billionD36Rhode Island-$14,700-$5.8 billionD37Maryland-$15,200-$33.8 billionD38Pennsylvania-$16,400-$73.8 billionD39Michigan-$17,000-$56.6 billionD40Louisiana-$17,100-$21.6 billionD41New York-$17,200-$118.2 billionD42Vermont-$18,900-$4.5 billionD43California-$21,100-$275 billionF44Kentucky-$24,700-$32.7 billionF45Delaware-$24,900-$8.6 billionF46Massachusetts-$30,100-$80.9 billionF47Hawaii-$31,700-$16.1 billionF48Connecticut-$50,700-$67.4 billionF49Illinois-$52,000-$226 billionF50New Jersey-$57,900-$189.6 billionF
Source: Truth in Accounting
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