(The Center Square) – Ohio taxpayers have a little less burden than a year ago, according to a new report from Truth in Accounting.
In its 2025 Financial State of the States report released Thursday, Ohio was one of 25 states without enough money to cover its bills.
Individual tax burdens in the Buckeye State fell to $1,300 from $1,600 a year ago. Still, the state ranks 28th among all the states with a financial grade of C.
That ranking and grade are the same as 2024.
“I do not see it as a trend,” Truth in Accounting CEO and Founder Sheila Weinberg told The Center Square speaking of improvement. “The major thing that we’re concerned about is that Ohio, like all the other states, was given a lot of additional federal spending during COVID. That federal spending has not returned to pre-COVID levels.”
Truth in Accounting gives the credit for the state’s slight improvement to more revenue produced by the state’s universities and unrealized gains from pension investments.
“Most of the improvement did not come from the primary government,” Weinberg said. “It came from the university earning monies and unrealized gains. Obviously, the stock market is very volatile, so there is a risk that the stock market could go down, which would increase the liabilities.”
The report also noted that in 2023 state government took in $8.2 billion more than it spent, but in 2024 that fell to $2.6 billion. Last year, revenue increased by $1.1 billion, but spending rose by $6.7 billion, mostly due to higher education costs, Medicaid, public assistance, transportation and the Lottery Commission.
“Obviously, that’s not a good trend at all,” Weinberg said.
Overall, the report said Ohio fell $5.3 billion short in fiscal year 2024 to cover its bills, including unfunded retirement liabilities. The state had $71.4 billion in revenue compared to $76.7 billion worth of bills.
It also pointed out Ohio may lose $8.6 billion in federal funding, which accounts for 9% of all expenses, if federal spending returns to 2019 levels.
“Ohio has received substantial temporary federal aid since 2020 in response to the COVID-19 crisis,” the report said. “This additional funding contributed to improvements in the state’s financial condition and increased its available resources to pay bills. However, as this aid declines and national budget tightening continues, future funding may return to more typical levels.”
