Government Spending

State Governments Burden Residents With Growing Debt Just Like the Feds

Spending more than one can afford is business as usual for state officeholders.

J.D. Tuccille | 11.2.2026 7:00 AM

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California's state government, which has run up $11,511 in debt per resident, is asking voters to approve more billions of dollars in bonds, to be paid back by taxpayers at a later date. The cost of carrying that extra debt will be added to the roughly $6 billion the state pays each year to service bonds issued in the past. But the Golden State isn't the most debt-burdened state in the country. Connecticut and New Jersey are the most heavily burdened per capita, while Utah carries the least debt per person. The reasons for running up those obligations vary, but the heavier the load, the more taxpayers will have to carry in the years to come.

You are reading The Rattler from J.D. Tuccille and Reason. Get more of J.D.'s commentary on government overreach and threats to everyday liberty.

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Taxpayers Owe Tens of Thousands of Dollars Each in Many States

"Connecticut ($25,381 per capita) and New Jersey ($22,933) are the two state governments with more than $20,000 in debt per capita," according to this year's State and Local Government Finance Report from the Reason Foundation, which publishes Reason. "Hawaii ($19,553 per capita), Illinois ($17,859), Massachusetts ($17,536), and Delaware ($17,445) rank third through sixth in per-capita debt, each with more than $17,000 in debt per state resident."

"Utah,........

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