Report: Minnesota owes $12,834 per resident in state, local debt
(The Center Square) – A new report from the Reason Foundation found Minnesota’s state and local governments have $73 billion in total liabilities, equivalent to $12,834 per resident. That figure is below the national average of $18,346 in per capita state and local government liabilities. “In general, Minnesota is about average, or slightly better than average, in total state and local debt,” Mariana Trujillo, managing director of government finance at Reason Foundation and co-author of the report, told The Center Square in an exclusive interview. Reason Foundation’s State and Local Government Finance Report looked at fiscal year 2024. At the end of that year, the nation’s 50 state governments reported $2.6 trillion in total debt, including $1.9 trillion in long-term debt. Connecticut, New Jersey, Hawaii, Illinois and Massachusetts ranked highest in per capita state debt. Connecticut reported $25,381 per resident, followed by New Jersey at $22,933. Minnesota ranked 32nd nationally in per capita total state debt. The states with the lowest per-capita state debt are Idaho, Indiana, South Dakota, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Utah has just $1,856 per resident, or just a fraction of Minnesota’s $4,052. Looking at state debt alone, Minnesota ranked better than most Democratic-led states, many of
