While Wisconsin receives less per resident from the federal government compared to other states, cuts to that funding could still have significant impacts.
That’s particularly true for seniors, veterans, students, the disabled, and low-income families, according to a new Wisconsin Policy Forum report.
WPF notes in 2022, Wisconsin ranked 41st in the country for federal funding spent on average per resident.
Still, federal funding in Wisconsin exceeds that of local and state governments combined. In federal fiscal year 2022, Wisconsin residents, businesses and local and state governments and nonprofits received $86.46 billion from the federal government, about $14,700 per person. That amounts to about a quarter of personal income in the state in 2022.
Considering the scope of federal funding in Wisconsin, the report notes, “even modest changes in that spending could have substantial effects here.”
The report says several federal programs have more than 1 million participants in Wisconsin, including Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
Wisconsin residents received more than $56 billion in direct payments to individuals from federal programs in 2022, according to the report, about $9,545 per resident. That included $29 billion for Social Security, $13 billion for Medicare, and $7.6 billion for Medicaid.