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Help for Select Years

Overview

Data are available for 1977-2021. Not all data are available for all years.


Notes for Use

Highlight one or more years in the left window and click Add >> to select years. Highlight one or more years in the right window and click << Remove to deselect years.

See Technical Notes further down this page for information on the reporting periods covered by each year of data.


Data Availability

Finance data for some levels are not available for every year. These tables show which analysis levels are available for which years.

Availability of US Totals, by year and level
Years State and Local State Local Local Government Detail
2017 X X X X
2013-2016 X X X  
2012 X X X x
2008-2011 X X X  
2007 X X X X
2004-2006 X X X  
2003 X X X X
2002 X X X X
2001 X X X X
2000-1998 X X X  
1997 X X X X
1996-1993 X X X  
1992-1977 X X X X

Availability of State Totals, by year and level
Years State and Local State Local Local Government Detail
2017 X X X X
2013-2016 X X X  
2012 X X X x
2008-2011 X X X  
2007 X X X X
2004-2006 X X X  
2003   X    
2002 X X X X
2001   X    
2000-1998 X X X  
1997 X X X X
1996-1993 X X X  
1992-1977 X X X X

Note: Except for Census of Governments years (i.e., all those ending in "2" and "7"), the local government statistics in this data are based in part on a sample of local governments. They are therefore subject to sampling variability. Estimates of statistical errors for 1993 and later years are available from the Census Bureau. For earlier years, contact the Census staff directly.

WARNING: FY 2003 and 2001 data for US Total of municipalities also includes townships.


Technical Notes

The reporting period for the Finance variables (starting with R, E, or D) is each government's fiscal year. From Chapter 3.2 - Fiscal Years as Statistical Reporting Periods in the Classification Manual:

"A survey year includes each individual government fiscal year that ended between July 1 of the previous year and June 30 of the survey year. Hence, survey year 2002 (the last census of governments prior to this edition of the Classification Manual), covers individual government fiscal years that ended from July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002. The resulting Census Bureau statistics for that survey year are referred to as covering fiscal year 2002.

For a variety of methodological, practical, and historical reasons, there are three general exceptions to the fiscal year definition. They involve the Federal Government, three of the state governments noted (AL, MI, and TX), and local school systems in Alabama, Nebraska and Texas (where the fiscal year coincides with the start of the traditional school year). For these governments only, the fiscal year moves beyond June 30 cutoff, so that fiscal year 2002 statistics cover the years that ended on August 31 2002 (TX) and September 30, 2002 (Federal Government, AL, and MI).

This current definition has been used since 1964. Prior to that time, a calendar basis was used - i.e., local government fiscal years used were those that fell within a particular calendar year.

Another aspect of the fiscal year topic is that it applies to both parent governments and their dependent agencies, which sometimes have fiscal years that differ. In most cases, the July 1 through June 30 rule still applies. The finance statistics from the appropriate fiscal years for the parent government and the dependent agency are summed, just as if they both used the same fiscal year, to arrive at totals for the overall government unit."

Population data are mid-calendar year estimates for the year of the data. Example: Selecting the "Per Capita" option for Alabama in 2021) would divide variables by 5,049,846). This is the July 2021) estimate from the Census Bureau, as reported in Table SAINC1 from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Personal Income data are for the same calendar year as the year of the data. Example: Selecting the "Fraction of Personal Income" option for Alabama in 2021) would divide variables by $250,828,796,875. This is the personal income amount for Alabama in calendar year 2021). Personal Income data is from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.


Sources

  1. Government Finance and Employment Classification Manual, http://www2.census.gov/govs/pubs/classification/2006_classification_manual.pdf.
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances and Census of Governments (1977-2021).
  3. U.S. Census Bureau, State Population Estimates, as reported in Table SAINC1 from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, https://apps.bea.gov/iTable/index_regional.cfm.
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, State Personal Income Estimates, as reported in Table SAINC1, https://apps.bea.gov/iTable/index_regional.cfm.
  5. Individual State Descriptions: 2017, https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2019/econ/2017isd.html.