More Than One-Third of Missouri’s Highway Budget Comes From Federal Funding, New Study Finds

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Missouri relies significantly on federal funding for its highways, with 35.8% of the state’s $3.95 billion highway budget coming from federal sources
• Missouri’s own drivers and vehicle owners generate $1.32 billion in state highway-user revenue, yet the state receives $1.42 billion in federal highway funds.
• For every $1.00 Missouri’s highway users pay into the federal Highway Trust Fund, the state receives $1.45 back.

(STL.News) Missouri’s 132,993 miles of public roads, the sixth-largest state road network in the nation, span the Ozark Plateau, the Missouri and Mississippi River valleys, and two major metropolitan areas anchored by Kansas City and St. Louis. With roughly 6.2 million residents, the state depends on Washington for more than a third of its highway budget.

An analysis of federal highway data by Kuzyk Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers examined all 50 states using three 2024 Federal Highway Administration datasets: FHWA Table SF-1 (revenues used by states for highways), FHWA Table FE-9 (Highway Trust Fund receipts attributable to highway users in each state), and FHWA Table HM-20 (public road length by functional system). The study compared federal funds received by each state against what each state’s highway users contribute to the federal Highway Trust Fund, alongside state highway-user revenues and public road mileage.

Table 1: 14 Most Federally Dependent States for Their Highway Budgets

Missouri ranks fourteenth at 35.8% federal dependency, well above the national median of 27.5%. The top states by federal dependency are overwhelmingly rural, concentrated across the Northern Plains, the Deep South, and northern New England.

Table 2: Missouri vs. Midwestern and Border State Neighbors

Among its Midwestern and border-state neighbors, Missouri’s 35.8% federal dependency leads the group excluding Arkansas (44.8%), outpacing Nebraska (32.7%), Indiana (31.5%), Iowa (28.1%), and Kansas (19.4%). Missouri’s donor ratio of 1.45x is moderate for the region, while its federal spending per road mile ($10,651) reflects the sheer size of the state’s 132,993-mile road network, the sixth-largest in the nation.

Table 3: States Where Federal Highway Funds Exceed State Highway-User Revenue

Only 13 states receive more in federal highway funds than they collect from their own drivers and vehicle owners. Missouri ranks last on this list at thirteenth: the $1.42 billion it receives from Washington is 1.07 times the $1.32 billion it generates from state highway-user fees, barely exceeding the break-even point.

Table 4: Missouri’s Highway Trust Fund Return vs. Top 10 States by Donor Ratio

Missouri’s highway users contribute $977.0 million to the federal Highway Trust Fund but receive $1.42 billion back, a return of $1.45 for every dollar paid in. That $439.5 million net surplus ranks Missouri among the largest net recipients of federal highway dollars in raw terms, though its 1.45x donor ratio is moderate.

Detailed Methodology

This analysis examined federal highway funding flows across all 50 U.S. states using 2024 data from the Federal Highway Administration. Five core data points were collected for each state: federal funds received, total highway receipts, state highway-user revenue, Highway Trust Fund contributions, and public road mileage. The federal dependency percentage was calculated by dividing federal funds received by total highway receipts. Net Federal balance was determined by subtracting each state’s HTF contribution from its federal funds received, with positive values showing a net surplus and negative values showing a net deficit. Donor Ratio was computed by dividing federal funds received by HTF contribution, where values above 1.00x identify net recipients and values below 1.00x identify net donors. Road mileage data was used to calculate federal spending per road mile for each state.

Data Sources:

•   FHWA Table SF-1 (2024): Revenues Used by States for Highways

?   HTML: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2024/sf1.cfm

?   Excel: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2024/xls/sf1.xlsx

•   FHWA Table FE-9 (2024): Federal Highway Trust Fund Receipts Attributable to Highway Users in Each State

?   HTML: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2024/fe9.cfm

?   Excel: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2024/xls/fe9.xlsx

•   FHWA Table HM-20 (2024): Public Road Length by Functional System

?   HTML: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2024/hm20.cfm

?   Excel: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2024/xls/hm20.xlsx

•   Research Dataset: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZuFUsc_xdkUZ01krihX2v1iNZG8b8PkaPq_GBo80sKk/edit?gid=0#gid=0
•       Research by: https://kuzyklaw.com/bakersfield/

About Kuzyk Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers

Kuzyk Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers is a California-based personal injury law firm specializing in intersection accidents and traffic-injury cases. The firm represents victims of negligent driving and unsafe roadway design while using data-driven research to inform public discussion and promote safer transportation systems nationwide.