February 2026

Missouri’s current budget

Governor Mike Kehoe released his FY 2026 budget proposal and gave the state of state address in January 2025. The FY 2026 budget was enacted in June 2025.

Missouri enacted its FY 2025 budget in June 2024. The budget reports $15.1 billion in general fund spending and $51.2 billion in total spending, a 4 and 3 percent decrease over the previously enacted budget, respectively. In 2025, Missouri eliminated its capital gains surcharge tax. Missouri also approved a package of tax cuts in calendar year 2023, which followed a large tax cut in 2022.

Under the American Rescue Plan, Missouri received $2.7 billion in direct state fiscal aid and $2 billion in local government aid from the federal government. As of January 2025, Missouri 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), Missouri’s total expenditures in fiscal year FY 2025 were $38.2 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, Missouri’s recent expenditure totals (general fund spending/total spending, including federal transfers) were:

For more on Missouri’s budget, see

Missouri’s budget institutions, rules, and constraints

Missouri uses an annual budget. The legislature is not required to pass a balanced budget, nor is the governor required to sign one. Deficits may be carried over into the following year. However, the governor must submit a balanced budget, and own-source revenue and debt must meet or exceed expenditures. Missouri further limits annual revenue growth with a budget rule based on personal income growth. This is a binding rule and requires a vote of the people to override it. A two-thirds supermajority is also required for legislation that raises taxes. The state also limits total authorized debt incurred by the state.

(Note: Some states have informal budget institutions that constrain overall spending growth or a specific expenditure’s growth.)

Overview of Missouri’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, Missouri’s combined state and local direct general expenditures were $58.4 billion in FY 2022 (the most recent year census data were available), or $9,450 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.

Missouri’s largest spending areas per capita were elementary and secondary education ($2,063) and public welfare ($1,968). 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.

Missouri’s combined state and local general revenues were $65.4 billion in FY 2022, or $10,585 per capita. National per capita general revenues were $13,619. Missouri uses all major state and local taxes. After federal transfers, Missouri’s largest sources of per capita revenue were individual income taxes ($1,526) and charges ($1,469), such as state university tuition and highway tolls.

Missouri’s politics

Governor Mike Kehoe, a Republican, was elected in 2024 with 59 percent of the vote. The next gubernatorial election is in 2028.

Republicans control both the House of Representatives (111 Republicans to 51 Democrats) and Senate (23 Republicans to 7 Democrats), with veto-proof majorities in both houses. Control of the governor’s mansion and each house of the legislature gives Republicans a trifecta in Missouri. All Missouri House seats are on the ballot in 2026 because representatives serve two-year terms. Senators serve four-year terms; roughly half the senatorial seats are on the ballot in 2026, and the other half will be up for election in 2028.

Missouri’s demographics

As of July 2024, Missouri’s population was 6,245,466. That was up 4.2 percent from 2010. The state’s population growth rate was slower than than the nation’s 9.9 percent growth over the same period. The Urban Institute estimates the state’s population will increase 12.7 percent between 2010 and 2030, less than the nation’s estimated growth rate of 16 percent.

Additional resources