Update on Pew's Analysis of Each State's Rainy Day Fund

This is a subject near and dear to my heart.  WHAT IF....all revenue stopped coming into the state treasuries of every state....how much would the state have to have on hand to continue to operate? What all this includes I am not sure.  But for sure it would include things such as normal administrative work, police and fire workers, utilities such as water and sewage treatment. But these are just guesses. 

It is a question that is much worth considering; each state has what they call a Rainy Day Fund.  There are "Best Practices" regarding how much cash they should have on hand for that just-in-case moment. I would think you'd want one or possibly two months at a minimum. But...that's just a guess. 

The Poster Child for RDFs has been Illinois. At one point they only had enough to fund ninety minutes of government operations. Now they are up to a "whopping" 14.4 days. Pathetic.

The best - and has mantained this status - was Wyoming, again taking the trophy.  But they have been better. Back in 2016 they had over 404 days in the fund.

Unfortunately, a lot of states use it as a slush fund. Need a few extra million to cover a shortfall? Get it from the RDF.  If these types of excuses are used, you end up like Illinois.  However, I think there are some states that have maintained their RDF through lawful restrictions and narrowing how they can be abused.  Consider what North Carolina went through when Hurricane Helene bulldozed through and wiped out major roadways and infrastructure - a true "rainy day" at the very least.

But overall, the median length of time has VASTLY improved.  The median time in 2016 was only 16 days.  Now it's just over 49 days.

For sure, there will be a day coming when they will be hitting their RDF quite frequently to maintain falling budgets....it will be a horrible sight.  

Here's the link to Pew's analysis on the RDFs  : https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2025/03/27/state-rainy-day-fund-growth-slowed-in-fiscal-2024?rsrv_map_data_picker=rdfd

BTW, I had to add the days to the map.  Hopefully, the numbers are correct.