Florida’s current budget
Governor Ron DeSantis released his
FY
2026 budget proposal in February 2025 and gave his
state
of the state address in March 2025. The
FY
2026 budget was enacted in June 2025.
Florida enacted its
FY
2025 budget in June 2024. The budget reported $48.6 billion in
general fund spending and $116.5 billion in total spending, an increase
of 2 percent over the previously enacted budget. In
2025,
Florida approved some business tax cuts as well as sales tax exemptions.
Also, in
2023,
Florida passed a tax relief package that included numerous sales tax
holidays.
Under the
American
Rescue Plan, Florida received $8.8 billion in direct state fiscal
aid and $5.7 billion in local government aid from the federal
government. As of
January
2025, Florida had fully allocated its state ARP. States must spend
the funds by Dec. 31, 2026.
According to the
National
Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), Florida’s total
expenditures in fiscal year FY 2025 were $119.1 billion, including
general funds, other state funds, bonds, and federal funds. NASBO
reported that total expenditures across all states in FY 2025 were $2.9
trillion, ranging from $5.4 billion in Wyoming to $413.8 billion in
California.
According to NASBO,
Florida’s recent expenditure totals (general fund spending/total
spending, including federal transfers) were:
- FY 2025: $49.9 billion/$118.9 billion
- FY 2024: $51.6 billion/$130.6 billion
- FY 2023: $44.2 billion/$119.1 billion
- FY 2022: $37.3 billion/$103.2 billion
- FY 2021: $35.9 billion/$93.7 billion
- FY 2020: $33.9 billion/$86.0 billion
- FY 2019: $33.0 billion/$82.6 billion
For more on Florida’s budget, see
Florida’s budget institutions, rules, and constraints
Florida uses an
annual
budget. The legislature must
pass
a balanced budget, but it can carry a deficit over into the
following year. Florida further
limits
annual revenue growth with a
budget
rule based on
personal
income. This is a binding rule that requires a legislative
supermajority or vote of the people to override. After voters approved
Amendment
5 in 2018, Florida now also requires a two-thirds supermajority vote
in each chamber of the state legislature for legislation containing any
new tax or fee or any increase to an existing tax or fee. There are also
limits on total
authorized
debt and debt service incurred by the state.
(Note: Some states have
informal
budget institutions that constrain overall spending growth or a
specific expenditure’s growth.)
Overview of Florida’s state and local expenditure and revenue
sources
Each state allocates spending and taxes differently among different
levels of governments, and local governments often administer programs
with state funds, so combined state and local government data show a
more complete picture of individual benefits and contributions when
comparing states.
Per the
US
Census Bureau, Florida’s combined state and local
direct
general expenditures were $204.6 billion in FY 2022 (the most recent
year census data were available), or $9,196 per capita. (Census data
exclude “business-like” activities such as utilities and transfers
between state and local governments.) National per capita direct general
expenditures were $12,083.
Florida’s largest spending areas per capita were
public
welfare ($1,758) and
elementary
and secondary education ($1,581). The Census Bureau includes most
Medicaid spending in public welfare but also allocates some of it to
public
hospitals. Per capita spending is useful for state comparisons but
is an
incomplete
metric because it doesn’t provide any information about a state’s
demographics, policy decisions, administrative procedures, or residents’
choices.
Florida’s combined state and local
general
revenues were $232.0 billion in FY 2022, or $10,429 per
capita. National per capita general revenues were $13,619. Florida does
not levy an
individual
income tax. After
federal
transfers, Florida’s largest sources of per capita revenue were
general
sales taxes ($1,914) and
charges
($1,694), such as state university tuition and highway tolls.
Florida’s economic trends
Florida’s
per
capita income (per the Bureau of Economic Analysis) was $70,390 in
2024, ranking 20th among the states. It was below the national average
of $72,425, but above the Southeast regional average of $61,546. The
state’s
median
household income (five-year estimate) was $74,568 in 2024, ranking
33rd among the states and below the national average of $80,734.
Florida’s
poverty
rate was 12.6 percent in 2024 (five-year estimate), above the
national rate of 12.5 percent.
Although Florida’s averages tell a story about the entire state,
Florida is composed of diverse localities. For example, the city of
University (Hillsborough County)’s median household income was $37,207,
and its poverty rate was 37 percent; the city of Parkland’s median
household income was $198,669, and its poverty rate was 4.3 percent.
Florida’s
unemployment
rate has historically followed national trends. Unemployment in
Florida was especially high after the Great Recession, but in recent
years has tracked the national average closely.
Unemployment rates (like other economic indicators) often
vary
significantly by race and ethnicity. In Florida, the average
unemployment rate in 2024 was 2.7 percent for white residents, 4.6
percent for Black residents, and 3.2 percent for Hispanic or Latino
residents.
The major industries that contributed the most to Florida’s
gross
domestic product (GDP) in 2024 were finance, professional services,
government, social services (i.e. health and education), and retail.
Finance, professional services, social services , and retail contributed
more to Florida’s GDP than they did to the nation’s and region’s GDP,
while government was less important to Florida than it was to the nation
and region in 2024.
Looking at more specific industries, among those that accounted for
at least 1 percent of Florida’s GDP in 2023, real estate produced more
for the state than for the nation, contributing 18.2 percent to
Florida’s GDP and 12.4 percent to the nation’s. Other industries that
overperformed in Florida relative to national averages in 2023 were
retail, construction, administrative and support services, and wholesale
trade.
Florida’s politics
Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, was elected in 2022 with
59
percent of the vote. The next gubernatorial election is in 2026.
Republicans
control
both the House of Representatives (86 Republicans to 34 Democrats)
and Senate (28 Republicans to 12 Democrats). Control of the governor’s
mansion and each house of the legislature gives Republicans a
trifecta
in Florida. All Florida House seats are on the ballot in 2026 because
representatives serve two-year terms.
Senators
serve a combination of two- and four-year terms during each decade’s
legislative district apportionment cycle. This
2-4-4
term system ensures all Senate seats are up for election after
new
legislative district boundaries are drawn. All senators are
therefore up for election in 2026. Both members of the House and Senate
are
term
limited and cannot seek reelection if by the end of their current
term they will have served more than eight consecutive years in
office.
Florida’s demographics
As of July 2024, Florida’s population was 23,372,215. That was up 24
percent from 2010. The state’s population growth rate was faster than
than the nation’s 9.9 percent growth over the same period. The Urban
Institute
estimates
the state’s population will increase 28 percent between 2010 and 2030,
more than the nation’s estimated growth rate of 16 percent.
