Report: North Carolina surplus is $4,700 per taxpayer

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – North Carolina has more than enough money to pay its outstanding bills and earned a B grade in the 16th annual Financial State of the States 2025 report.

Courtesy of Truthinaccounting.org via The Center Square

Released Thursday by Truth In Accounting, the analysis for fiscal year 2024 – ending June 30, 2024 – said any state with a taxpayer surplus between $1 and $9,999 gets a B. The report says $74.6 billion is available to pay $57.6 billion worth of bills, generating a $17 billion surplus or $4,700 per taxpayer in the nation’s ninth largest state.

The report says, “North Carolina may lose $11.5 billion in federal funding (14% of expenses) if allocations return to 2019 levels, adjusted only for inflation.”

North Carolina is 17th nationally and one of 20 states earning a B behind the five that achieved an A. Neighbors Tennessee (fifth, $10,900 per taxpayer) and Virginia (12th, $6,800) are ahead in per taxpayer surplus; Georgia (19th, $4,000) and South Carolina (35th, $8,500 deficit) trail.

Only those with a surplus earned an A or B.

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Seven states were graded C for taxpayer burden between $0 and $4,999; 13 were graded D ($5,000 to $20,000); and five got an F (greater than $20,000).

The bottom lines are reached by taking money needed to pay bills and dividing by the number of taxpayers. Truth In Accounting says, “Unfunded retirement liabilities were the largest contributing factor to state-level debt. One way states make their budgets look balanced when they are not is by shortchanging public pensions and other post-employment benefits funds.”

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Alan Wooten has been a publisher, general manager and editor. His work has won national or state awards in every decade since the 1980s. He’s a proud graduate of Elon University and Farmville Central High in North Carolina.