Utah's low per capita ranking is not bad, state officials say

The federal government spent less per person in Utah than in almost any other state in 2006, according to a new census report.

Only Nevada ranked lower than the $6,162 per capita spent in Utah, according to the "Consolidated Federal Funds Report: 2006," released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

When it comes to total federal funds, California got the biggest share — 10.3 percent of the $2.45 trillion the federal government spent domestically in 2006. The spending marks a 7.5 percent boost nationwide over 2005.

Utah received $15.7 billion — less than 1 percent of the total.

States at the top end of the report's per capita spending received more than double the amount spent in Utah.

However, state economist Juliette Tennert said the reason for Utah's shortfall isn't necessarily the state not getting its fair share.

She points out that the top two states, Louisiana and Mississippi, received $16,263 and $14,516 per capita, respectively. Both of them, however, were recovering from Hurricane Katrina in 2006, and likely received large amounts of federal relief in its aftermath.

Another example was Alaska, which has a relatively small population that inflates the per capita amount.

Plus, she said, Utah doesn't have large numbers of the types of individuals who receive the funding.

"We don't have a lot of federal employees in Utah, and some of those government programs, relative to the rest of the nation," she said. "Utah doesn't have high participation in TANIF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), Medicare or Medicaid."

Nearly half of all domestic spending — $1.16 trillion — went to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, according to the census report. And some $739 billion went to retirement and disability.

Utah, which has long been the nation's youngest state, doesn't receive as much federal funding in those areas as some other states, Tennert said.

"We have a lot of kids relative to adults," she said. "We're very young ... Because of our unique population, even though we are low, we are getting our fair share."

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a statement that the per capita numbers are no surprise given Utah's demographics as "a young population with many children and young families, people who live healthy lifestyles and are self-reliant and a very vibrant economy."