Politicians Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan recently introduced a plan to fight poverty by transferring more responsibility to the states. While the federal government offers various assistance programs to U.S. residents in need — anything from unemployment benefits to food stamps — the states provide additional services and benefits.

Right now, the states already bear a substantial burden. They pay for public pension plans, unemployment insurance, education, Medicaid, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF), among other benefits. However, while most states fund many of these social programs, the amounts and levels they spend vary widely. 24/7 Wall St. identified the states that guaranteed the most benefits in these five categories, and the states that guaranteed the least.

Click here to see the states with the most government benefits

Click here to see the states with the least government benefits

For the most part, states that spent the most in one program tend to spent the most overall. Rhode Island, which ranked as the top-spending state this year, spent in the top 15 in all five measures we considered. Similarly, states that were close to the bottom of our list for doling out benefits and services spent less than average in nearly every spending category.

However, this was not always the case. States like New York, which spent the most in the country on education per pupil and second-most in the country on Medicaid per enrollee, paid the fourth-lowest weekly unemployment benefits relative to lost wages.

The reasons some states spend more than others on benefits and programs is complicated. One factor that seems to be consistently true across the top and bottom spenders is the political climate. Of the 10 states that ranked as the most generous, nine voted Democratic in the last presidential election, with Alaska as the exceptions. Of the 10 states that spent the least on their social programs, all but one — Florida — voted Republican.

The political climate can also influence how much a state collects in taxes, with Democratic states collecting more than Republican states. States that spent more on benefits were also more likely to have higher median incomes, which mean that tax bases were also higher. In fact, all five of the states with the highest median income are among the top spenders on social programs. Most of the least generous states have among the lowest median incomes in the country.

There does not appear to be a relationship between the relative needs of a state’s residents for social programs and the state’s spending. Of the states that spent the most on weekly Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance, for example, the vast majority had among the lowest poverty rates in the country.

In an interview with 24/7 Wall St, Michael Leachman, director of state fiscal research at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, explained that it’s hard to explain why states that have a greater need for public assistance spend less, while states with better-off populations spend more on benefits. “You wonder if it isn’t to some extent a case of chicken-and-egg,” he said. “In the states that have urban, higher income populations… there’s money there, and the politics have evolved to encourage spending on public programs. But it is a difficult question to answer.”

In order to assess how much or how little a state guarantees in benefits and services, 24/7 Wall St. examined spending by each state on a number of different programs. We considered average pension benefit payments per beneficiary as well as per pupil spending, both published by the U.S. Census Bureau for the 2011 fiscal year. Pension benefits include both state and local pensions, while per pupil spending reflects the total from all sources of funding. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment & Training Administration provided unemployment insurance figures, calculated over a 12-month period ending in the third quarter of 2013. Information on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families figures is from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). Medicaid payments per enrollee for fiscal 2010 are from the Kaiser Family Foundation. While states receive partial federal funding for TANF and Medicaid, they have considerable discretion over how to implement these programs. All data used were for the most recent available year.
States Doling Out The Least Benefits

10. Louisiana
> Average pension benefits: $21,666 (25th highest)
> Total per pupil spending: $10,723 (22nd highest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $5,196 (15th lowest)
> Tax collections per capita: $1,944 (12th lowest)

Out-of-work Louisiana residents received just $206 per week on average in unemployment insurance benefits as of the third quarter of 2013, second-lowest in the U.S. The benefits amounted to just one-quarter of the unemployed workers’ previous weekly wages, versus close to one-third nationwide. Additionally, a single-parent family of three in Louisiana received $240 per week in TANF benefits, less than all but a few states. Louisiana is one of the poorest states, with nearly 20% of the population living below the poverty line as of 2012. Recently, Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack added Louisiana to the government’s StrikeForce Initiative. The initiative targets poverty in rural areas by improving access to microloans and expanding the use of SNAP benefits to buy food at local farmers’ markets.

9. North Carolina
> Average pension benefits: $18,751 (13th lowest)
> Total per pupil spending: $8,312 (7th lowest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $5,803 (22nd lowest)
> Tax collections per capita: $2,332 (24th lowest)

Unemployment insurance in North Carolina amounted to more than 36% of the typical weekly wage through the third quarter of 2013, higher than the national rate of 32.9%. At the beginning of last year, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory approved substantial cuts to unemployment benefits. The legislation, which took effect in July, reduced the maximum weekly payment available to recipients as well as the duration of eligibility. McCrory has been criticized for making cuts to a variety of benefit programs, including cuts to the already underfunded public school system. In fiscal 2011, the state spent $8,312 per public school student, more than $2,000 less than the expenditure on a typical American pupil.

ALSO READ: States Where the Most People Work Two Jobs

8. Arizona
> Average pension benefits: $21,494 (24th lowest)
> Total per pupil spending: $7,666 (4th lowest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $5,986 (23rd highest)
> Tax collections per capita: $1,682 (3rd lowest)

Few school systems are less well-funded than Arizona’s. In fiscal 2011, the state system spent just $7,666 per pupil in the K-12 system, the fourth-lowest in the country. This included just $1,152 per student on employee benefits, lower than all but one state, and $1,100 less than the U.S. average. While the state’s jobless situation has improved, it still has one of the higher unemployment rates in the country. For those Arizonans who are still not gainfully employed, the state has one of the least generous unemployment insurance programs. The average unemployment insurance program accounted for barely one quarter of average lost wages, lower than all but two states. One reason Arizona may be spending as little as it does on its population is its low revenue. The state collected just $1,682 per person in taxes in fiscal 2011, compared to a state average of $2,441.

7. South Carolina
> Average pension benefits: $19,423 (17th lowest)
> Total per pupil spending: $8,986 (14th lowest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $5,119 (12th lowest)
> Tax collections per capita: $1,650 (2nd lowest)

South Carolina paid a single-parent family of three just $216 per week in TANF benefits as of 2013, less than all but a handful of states. This amounted to just roughly 13.3% of the federal poverty level as of 2013. In all, more than 18% of South Carolinians lived below the poverty level as of 2012. Governor Nikki Haley was criticized by some in 2011 for advocating drug tests for potential jobless benefit recipients. Recently, Haley publicly disclosed plans to increase education spending by $160 million. As of fiscal 2011, the state ranked in the bottom-third nationwide in per-pupil spending.

ALSO READ: States With the Best (and Worst) Schools

6. Indiana
> Average pension benefits: $16,679 (10th lowest)
> Total per pupil spending: $9,370 (20th lowest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $4,790 (7th lowest)
> Tax collections per capita: $2,292 (22nd lowest)

Indiana pension recipients received just $16,679 in fiscal 2011, much lower than the national average pension of $25,135 that year. And the state’s pension program has suffered cuts since. In July last year, the Indiana Public Retirement System privatized the annuity system so that payments normally calculated with a fixed 7.5% interest rate would be adjusted to a market rate of around 4%. If Indiana lawmakers do not intervene this year, the change could cost beneficiaries a great deal. Indiana’s Medicaid system was also one of the least generous in the country. Children, in particular, received relatively low Medicaid benefits. The average annual Medicaid payment per child in the state was just $1,575 in fiscal 2010, the second lowest among all states that year.

5. Florida
> Average pension benefits: $21,304 (23rd lowest)
> Total per pupil spending: $8,887 (13th lowest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $4,434 (5th lowest)
> Tax collections per capita: $1,718 (7th lowest)

Florida had one of the lowest rates of health insurance coverage in the country as of 2012. At least part of this likely has to do with the state’s relatively older population. Older U.S. residents are automatically covered by the federally funded Medicare program. However, according to the Kaiser Foundation, when excluding people over 65, the state has the second-lowest rate of health insurance coverage. State residents covered by Medicaid received an average of just $4,434 per person, more than $1,000 less than the U.S. average. The state’s unemployment insurance program was also one of the least generous in the country, with the average weekly benefit accounting for just 28.2% of weekly wages, compared to a national rate of 32.9%.

ALSO READ: States About To Lose The Most Unemployment Insurance

4. Oklahoma
> Average pension benefits: $18,558 (12th lowest)
> Total per pupil spending: $7,587 (3rd lowest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $4,782 (6th lowest)
> Tax collections per capita: $2,057 (14th lowest)

Oklahoma spent less than $8,000 per public school student in 2011, less than any other state except for Idaho and Utah. In fiscal year 2011, the state’s per pupil expenditures on educator salaries and employee benefits were also among the lowest in the nation — $4,361 and $1,402, respectively. Additionally, 18.4% of state residents didn’t have health insurance in 2012, more than all but four other states. In 2008, the state acknowledged only a minimal obligation for health insurance for retirees. As of 2012, the state did not fund any retiree health insurance programs, unlike the majority of states.

3. Alabama
> Average pension benefits: $21,921 (24th highest)
> Total per pupil spending: $8,813 (12th lowest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $4,150 (4th lowest)
> Tax collections per capita: $1,801 (10th lowest)

Alabama was among the lowest spenders on a number of programs. Unemployment insurance benefits averaged just $206 per week, or barely 26% of workers’ average wages. This was less than all but a few other states. TANF benefit levels for a single-parent family of three were also among the least generous in the nation. Additionally, Medicaid spending per enrollee as of fiscal 2010 totalled just $4,150, less than in all but three other states. Alabama elected not to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which offers states the opportunity to expand the program at little cost. Last year, the state made other changes to Medicaid, replacing its fee-for-service model with a managed care system, in which providers receive a fixed payment per patient.

ALSO READ: America’s Most (and Least) Healthy States

2. Mississippi
> Average pension benefits: $20,891 (20th lowest)
> Total per pupil spending: $7,928 (5th lowest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $5,005 (11th lowest)
> Tax collections per capita: $2,257 (19th lowest)

In 2012, 24.2% of people in Mississippi lived below the poverty line, more than any other state. Nearly one in five households relied on food stamps that year, second-most nationally. While state residents rely heavily on federal benefit programs, they are less able to rely on state-level benefit programs. Mississippi residents relying on TANF have received among the smallest payments in the country since 1996. In addition, compensation for teachers in Mississippi’s K-12 system was among the worst in the country in fiscal year 2011. On a per-pupil basis, educator wages were lower than $5,000, less than all but three states. State spending on employee benefits was also among the lowest nationally that year.

1. Tennessee
> Average pension benefits: $16,626 (9th lowest)
> Total per pupil spending: $8,242 (6th lowest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $5,565 (20th lowest)
> Tax collections per capita: $1,761 (8th lowest)

No state ranks below Tennessee in providing benefits to its residents. A family of three, living with a single parent and with no other source of cash income, could receive just $185 per week in TANF benefits as of July 2013, lower than in any state but Mississippi. Even with SNAP benefits, such a family would receive benefits equal to just 43.7% of the poverty level, lower than in almost any other state. As of 2012, 17.9% of state residents lived below the poverty line, versus 15.9% of all Americans. The state was similarly sparse in spending on education, unemployment insurance benefits, and pension benefits. The average annual benefit payment to state and local workers with a pension was $16,626 in fiscal 2011. Last year, Tennessee decided to overhaul its pension system. Beginning in July, workers hired by the state will be eligible for a hybrid pension plan that requires contributions by both employees and the state.

States Doling Out The Most Benefits

10. Vermont
> Average pension benefits: $15,802 (6th lowest)
> Total per pupil spending: $15,925 (4th highest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $6,158 (18th highest)
> Tax collections per capita: $4,293 (4th highest)

Vermont collected more taxes per resident in fiscal 2011 than all but three other states. At $8,988 per capita, the high tax revenue may help explain the state’s generous benefit programs that year. High state tax revenue — $8,988 per capita — may have helped account for Vermont’s generous benefit programs that year. In 2012, just 6.5% of Vermont’s population didn’t have health insurance, less than half the national rate. And with Vermont officials pushing for universal coverage, health coverage in the state may improve even more. In 2011, Governor Peter Shumlin signed into law Green Mountain Healthcare, a single-payer plan. The plan is expected to be fully implemented by 2017.

9. Hawaii
> Average pension benefits: $23,457 (16th highest)
> Total per pupil spending: $12,004 (13th highest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $5,132 (13th lowest)
> Tax collections per capita: $3,548 (7th highest)

Hawaii’s unemployment insurance system was the most generous in the country. Unemployed workers received an average benefit of nearly $423, or 52.5% of the average weekly wage, as of the third quarter of 2013 — both more than any other state. By either measure this was more than any other state. Hawaii also has a two-tiered system of TANF benefit levels, depending on the ability of a family member to work. Even the lower benefit level places Hawaii among the most generous states. Last year, the state also eliminated its asset limit, which had previously left many families unqualified for TANF due to their savings and other assets. Opponents of asset limit believe this discourages saving for emergencies.

ALSO READ: Eight States With the Highest Minimum Wages

8. Maryland
> Average pension benefits: $22,173 (18th highest)
> Total per pupil spending: $13,871 (8th highest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $7,046 (10th highest)
> Tax collections per capita: $2,756 (15th highest)

Maryland was one of the wealthiest states in the nation in 2012, when a typical household earned more than $71,000, the highest of any state. That year, just 10.8% of residents lived below the poverty line, less than in all but four other states. Like most states, Maryland’s pension program took a hit during the recession, losing 20% of its value in 2009. As of the middle of last year, however, the fund had recovered substantially, exceeding $40 billion in value.

7. Pennsylvania
> Average pension benefits: $24,360 (14th highest)
> Total per pupil spending: $13,467 (10th highest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $7,288 (8th highest)
> Tax collections per capita: $2,541 (20th highest)

Beneficiaries of Pennsylvania’s unemployment insurance program received more than $357 per week on average in 2013, among the most in the country. Since the start of 2014, Pennsylvania’s unemployed may have a rough time because federally funded unemployment compensation is ending for nearly 90,000 Pennsylvania residents. Pennsylvania was also a top spender on education as of fiscal 2011. Total per pupil spending was $13,467 that year, nearly $3,000 more than the national average spending.

ALSO READ: The Best and Worst Run States in America: A Survey of All 50

6. New Jersey
> Average pension benefits: $29,425 (8th highest)
> Total per pupil spending: $15,968 (3rd highest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $8,309 (3rd highest)
> Tax collections per capita: $3,085 (12th highest)

New Jersey was among the nation’s highest spenders on education as of fiscal 2011, spending close to $16,000 per pupil. This was more than $6,000 per student above the national rate. On a per-student basis, the state was also among the highest spenders on both teachers and school system workers. That same year, the average state or local pension beneficiary received more than $29,000 per year, one of the largest average benefits in the U.S. During his tenure, Governor Chris Christie has pushed through reforms in both teacher tenure and pension spending. Christie recently began his second term as governor with a “State of the State” speech, in which he pushed further reforms to both education and state pensions. New Jersey was also a leader in Medicaid spending per enrollee, ranking third in the nation in fiscal 2010.

5. Alaska
> Average pension benefits: $23,795 (15th highest)
> Total per pupil spending: $16,674 (2nd highest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $9,310 (the highest)
> Tax collections per capita: $7,708 (the highest)

Alaskans paid more state taxes than any other state in 2011. Considering their high incomes and the state’s low poverty rate, Alaska residents may have been able to afford it. Median household income in the state was $67,712 in 2012, higher than all but two other states. Due in part to high taxes, the state’s revenue in 2011 was $17,630 per capita, by far the highest in the nation that year. During the 12 months through the third quarter of last year, however, Alaska’s unemployed received $250 per week, on average, relatively small compared to the rest of the U.S. Additionally, more than one in five people in Alaska did not have health insurance in 2012, more than nearly any other state. Overall, however, Alaskans have access to very generous benefits. For families living in poverty, the federal food stamp program, together with Alaska’s welfare system, can cover families for more than 80% of the federal poverty level and the highest combined benefit as of 2013.

ALSO READ: The 10 Worst States for Women

4. Massachusetts
> Average pension benefits: $29,067 (9th highest)
> Total per pupil spending: $13,941 (7th highest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $6,841 (12th highest)
> Tax collections per capita: $3,361 (9th highest)

Massachusetts had $6,832 per person in state revenue as of fiscal 2011, more than all but eight other states. Much of this likely went to support the state’s various social safety net programs. Per pupil spending on K-12 schools was the seventh highest in the nation that year, while the average annual benefit payment to state and local pension beneficiaries was ninth-highest in the U.S. The state was also a high spender on Medicaid, paying $6,841 per enrollee as of fiscal 2010, 12th most in the nation. However, this may have been in part due to the high cost of health care in the state. As of the most recent quarter, only care in Alaska was more expensive, according to MERIC. Despite the high health care costs, just 3.9% of the state’s population did not have health insurance in 2012, the lowest percentage of any state. The state’s 2006 health care reforms, often considered a model for the ACA, are likely the reason for the high coverage rates in the state.

3. Connecticut
> Average pension benefits: $35,079 (the highest)
> Total per pupil spending: $15,600 (6th highest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $7,561 (7th highest)
> Tax collections per capita: $3,754 (5th highest)

Connecticut pension beneficiaries received generous payments in 2011 of more than $35,000 on average — the highest in the country. Connecticut was among the highest spenders on education in 2011, spending more than $5,000 more per pupil than the national average. Teacher salaries and benefits were among the highest at that time as well. Connecticut residents were also among the wealthiest in the nation as of 2012, with more than 11% earning $200,000 or more per year, the highest proportion nationally.

ALSO READ: 10 States With The Worst Health Coverage

2. New York
> Average pension benefits: $30,871 (5th highest)
> Total per pupil spending: $19,076 (the highest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $8,910 (2nd highest)
> Tax collections per capita: $3,497 (8th highest)

New York was one of the top benefit spenders in the nation on a wide range of state programs. New York spent $8,910 per Medicaid enrollee in fiscal 2010, trailing only Alaska. In 2012, Governor Andrew Cuomo petitioned the federal government to allow the state to keep some of the billions of dollars its Medicaid redesign saved. However, a decision on whether to allow the state to reinvest this money within its own health system is pending. In addition to its high Medicaid expenses, New York also led the nation in per pupil spending as of fiscal 2011, at more than $19,000. TANF benefit levels were among the highest in the nation as well last year, due in part to a state program that includes a number of different components, including a variable amount for rent that well exceeds what some states give in TANF benefits. Of course, New York must also raise enough taxes to be able to provide these services. The state collected $3,500 in fiscal 2011, eighth-most in the U.S.

1. Rhode Island
> Average pension benefits: $31,548 (3rd highest)
> Total per pupil spending: $13,815 (9th highest)
> Medicaid payments per enrollee: $8,229 (5th highest)
> Tax collections per capita: $2,603 (18th highest)

Rhode Island was one of just six states to pay pension beneficiaries more than $30,000 in fiscal year 2011; the state paid $31,548 on average. In November 2011, state legislators enacted the Retirement Security Act, which introduced considerable reforms to the state’s pension program. The act was designed to lower the state’s overall pension liabilities, which were projected to increase under the previous system. Rhode Islanders received another relatively generous benefit. The jobless received unemployment checks worth nearly 40% of the typical weekly wage on average over the 12 months through the third quarter of last year, among the best compensation nationally.

Click here to see the states with the least government benefits

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