Visualization: Quarterly state government tax collections

State government tax collections presented in an interactive visualization.

The United States Census Bureau provides tax collection data for states and local governments on a quarterly basis. The data is provided by category such as total taxes, sales taxes, personal income taxes, etc. ⁽¹⁾United States Census Bureau. Quarterly Summary of State & Local Tax Revenue (QTAX). Available at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/qtax.html.

The Bureau describes the program as:

The Quarterly Summary of State and Local Government Tax Revenue provides quarterly estimates of state and local government tax revenue at a national level, as well as detailed tax revenue data for individual states. The information contained in this survey is the most current information available on a nationwide basis for government tax collections.

While the state data records are ultimately from state government sources, the classification of taxes among the different categories is entirely the responsibility of the Census Bureau. Therefore, tax classification might not reflect the actual classification or presentation as requested by the various state government respondents. ⁽²⁾United States Census Bureau. About Quarterly Summary of State & Local Tax Revenue. Available at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/qtax/about.html

I’ve gathered the data and have made it available in an interactive visualization. There are several views of the data, represented by the tabs at the top. You may select a time frame, the states that appear, and the tax categories that appear.

This data is not adjusted for inflation. Some taxes, such a property taxes, show large seasonal variations.

Click here to access the visualization.

For more visualizations, click here.