Politics Alabama
State Facts Government
This page was last updated: 31 May, 2012
Each year, Governing Magazine publishes the State and Local Source Book that contains information for States on economic development, education, environment, finance, management, public safety, public works, social services, and technology. Also, States are ranked in comparison to other states.
This information can be highly informative, and often flies in the face of "common sense" or oft-repeated "facts". The Source Book itself is over 100 pages long, so only relevant portions of it are posted here. For complete information, the Source Book is a regular bonus for those who subscibe to Governing Magazine. Unless otherwise indicated, the information provided below is based upon data for FY2006.*
Index
State Economies
Personal Personal
Income Income GDP GDP
(Millions) Per Capita (Millions) Per Capita
National $10,860,917 $36,276 $13,149,033 $43,918
Alabama $143,925 $31,295 $160,569 $34,914
Florida $647,583 $35,798 $713,505 $39,442
Georgia $298,627 $31,891 $379,550 $40,533
Mississippi $ 77,232 $26,535 $ 84,225 $28,938
Tennessee $195,078 $32,304 $238,029 $39,417
Unemployment
Total Labor Force
Unemployed Unemployment Labor As % of
Persons Rate Force Population
National 6,913,000 4.5% 152,236,000 50.8%
Alabama 72,400 3.3% 2,223,800 48.4%
Florida 289,800 3.2% 9,169,600 50.7%
Georgia 194,500 4.0% 4,828,200 51.6%
Mississippi 90,700 6.8% 1,323,600 45.5%
Tennessee 150,800 5.0% 3,029,100 50.2%
Economic Growth
Employment Change
Change in PI
2006-07 2003-06
National 1.5% 18.7%
Alabama 1.5% 21.6%
Florida 1.4% 25.9%
Georgia 1.4% 19.1%
Mississippi 1.4% 16.5%
Tennessee 1.0% 17.9%
Index of State Economic Momentum
Index averages most recent one-year changes in employment, personal income and population and relates each state's performance to the national average, set at zero.
Index
March, 2006
National 0.0
Alabama 0.2
Florida 0.7
Georgia 0.4
Mississippi -0.0
Tennessee -0.2
K-12 Education Finances
Revenue Revenue Current Spending Current
For For Spending % Change Spending
State Gvt Local Gvt 2002-03 2002-03 per Capita
Alabama $2,970,020 $1,178,971 $ 3,910,142 3.3% $ 873
Florida $8,244,860 $8,619,685 $16,243,675 5.9% $ 973
Georgia $6,651,100 $6,646,108 $12,323,991 7.1% $1,442
Mississippi $1,790,267 $1,001,181 $ 2,286,422 6.3% $ 998
Tennessee $2,651,441 $2,304,716 $ 5,506,264 2.0% $ 951
Higher Education Operating Funds
Tax Funds Tax Funds Total Tax Total Tax
From States From Locals Funds Appropriations
(Millions) (Millions) (Millions) per Capita
Alabama $1,116 $2 $1,118 $250
Florida $2,822 $0 $2,822 $173
Georgia $1,699 $0 $1,699 $202
Mississippi $ 806 $0 $ 806 $282
Tennessee $1,073 $0 $1,073 $187
Public School Enrollment
Tax Funds Tax Funds Total Tax Total Tax
From States From Locals Funds Appropriations
(Millions) (Millions) (Millions) per Capita
Alabama $1,116 $2 $1,118 $250
Florida $2,822 $0 $2,822 $173
Georgia $1,699 $0 $1,699 $202
Mississippi $ 806 $0 $ 806 $282
Tennessee $1,073 $0 $1,073 $187
Classroom Costs
K-12 % of % of Higher % of % of
Enroll- Total Total Ed Enroll- Total Total
ment Pop Pop Rank ment Pop Pop Rank
Alabama 721,633 16.1% 34 208,385 4.7% 16
Florida 2,533,628 15.2% 45 588,921 3.6% 40
Georgia 1,496,012 17.5% 7 298,215 3.6% 41
Mississippi 491,623 17.1% 13 125,656 4.4% 22
Tennessee 910,364 15.7% 40 194,696 3.4% 42
State Environmental Spending
State Total Total as
Total per % Personal
(Millions) Capita Income
Alabama $ 231 $51 0.2%
Florida $1,397 $84 0.3%
Georgia $ 539 $63 0.2%
Mississippi $ 198 $69 0.3%
Tennessee $ 235 $41 0.1%
Municipal Waste Management
Solid Waste SW Generated Per % %
Generated Per Capita Capita % Waste-To- Land-
(Tons/Year) (Tons/Year) Rank Recycled Energy Filled
Alabama N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Florida 19,706,584 1.18 27 24.0 28.2 47.8
Georgia 11,214,003 1.31 18 8.3 0.5 91.3
Mississippi 2,918,407 1.02 40 0.3 0.0 99.7
Tennessee 7,365,920 1.27 24 26.4 2.0 71.6
Urban Air Quality
Unhealthy Average #
Air Quality Unhealthy Days
Days, 2002 Rank 1993-2002 Rank
Birmingham, AL 16 41 25 16
Orlando, Florida 1 51 4 51
Atlanta, Georgia 24 25 34 12
Knoxville, Tennessee 45 7 35 10
Drinking Water Quality
# of Systems % Systems % Systems
Community W/Health Violations With W/Violations
Water Sys Violations Rank Violations Rank
Alabama 607 37 39 6.1% 32
Florida 1,925 116 11 6.0% 34
Georgia 1,678 85 16 5.1% 40
Mississippi 1,168 46 36 3.9% 46
Tennessee 675 40 38 5.9% 36
Total State Revenue
State Total Total As
Total per % Personal
(Millions) Capita Income
Alabama $14,942 $3,336 13.1%
Florida $47,354 $2,837 9.5%
Georgia $24,847 $2,908 10.1%
Mississippi $11,052 $3,855 17.1%
Tennessee $17,952 $3,101 11.2%
Federal Aid to States
State Total Total As
Total per % Personal
(Millions) Capita Income
Alabama $ 5,795 $1,294 5.1%
Florida $12,786 $ 766 2.6%
Georgia $ 8,541 $1,000 3.5%
Mississippi $ 4,374 $1,526 6.8%
Tennessee $ 7,078 $1,222 4.4%
Total State Tax Revenue
State Total Total As
Total per % Personal
(Millions) Capita Income
Alabama $ 6,510 $1,453 5.7%
Florida $24,816 $1,487 5.0%
Georgia $13,772 $1,612 5.6%
Mississippi $ 4,729 $1,650 7.3%
Tennessee $ 7,798 $1,347 4.9%
State Personal Income Tax
State Total Total As
Total per % Personal
(Millions) Capita Income
Alabama $ 2,031 $ 453 1.8%
Florida $ 0 $ 0 0.0%
Georgia $ 6,488 $ 759 2.6%
Mississippi $ 985 $ 344 1.5%
Tennessee $ 146 $ 25 0.1%
State Corporate Income Tax
State Total Total As
Total per % Personal
(Millions) Capita Income
Alabama $ 323 $ 72 0.3%
Florida $ 1,219 $ 73 0.2%
Georgia $ 568 $ 66 0.2%
Mississippi $ 196 $ 68 0.3%
Tennessee $ 503 $ 87 0.3%
State Sales Tax Revenue
State Total Total As
Total per % Personal
(Millions) Capita Income
Alabama $ 3,383 $ 755 3.0%
Florida $18,920 $1,134 3.8%
Georgia $ 6,018 $ 704 2.4%
Mississippi $ 3,183 $1,110 4.9%
Tennessee $ 6,046 $1,044 3.8%
State Revenues: Fees, Charges, & Interest
State Total Total As
Total per % Personal
(Millions) Capita Income
Alabama $ 3,201 $ 715 2.8%
Florida $ 8,502 $ 509 1.7%
Georgia $ 3,731 $ 437 1.5%
Mississippi $ 1,780 $ 621 2.8%
Tennessee $ 2,506 $ 433 1.6%
Total State Spending
State Total Total As
Total per % Personal
(Millions) Capita Income
Alabama $17,996 $4,018 15.7%
Florida $51,834 $3,105 10.4%
Georgia $30,053 $6,517 12.2%
Mississippi $12,742 $4,445 19.7%
Tennessee $20,029 $3,459 12.5%
State Debt
State Total Total As
Total per % Personal
(Millions) Capita Income
Alabama $ 6,405 $1,430 5.6%
Florida $20,266 $1,214 4.1%
Georgia $ 8,243 $ 965 3.3%
Mississippi $ 4,160 $1,451 6.4%
Tennessee $ 3,628 $ 627 2.3%
State Government Employees
Employees Employees % Change %
Employees per 100,000 per 100,000 Employees Employees Change
2004 population pop rank 1999 1999-2004 Rank
Alabama 102,800 228 18 97,700 5.2% 21
Florida 211,600 124 50 207,700 1.9% 38
Georgia 154,800 178 35 152,100 1.8% 40
Mississippi 63,300 220 24 57,600 9.9% 9
Tennessee 97,300 167 39 96,400 0.9% 43
Local Government Employees
Employees Employees % Change %
Employees per 100,000 per 100,000 Employees Employees Change
2004 population pop rank 1999 1999-2004 Rank
Alabama 208,600 463 35 201,800 3.4% 43
Florida 740,700 435 40 648,400 14.2% 7
Georgia 391,600 451 37 350,200 11.8% 13
Mississippi 158,000 548 10 144,100 9.6% 22
Tennessee 281,100 481 28 246,700 13.9% 8
Public Employee Salaries
State & Local Avg. State State Local Local
Average Salary Avg Avg Avg Avg
Salary Rank Salary Sal Rank Salary Sal Rank
Alabama $33,027 38 $38,010 28 $30,680 43
Florida $37,029 22 $37,846 30 $36,778 22
Georgia $34,108 31 $36,471 35 $33,282 30
Mississippi $28,432 50 $32,505 50 $26,599 50
Tennessee $32,908 39 $34,378 45 $32,354 34
Public Pension Plans
State Pension Local Pension
Earnings as % Earnings as %
Benefits Paid Rank Benefits Paid Rank
Alabama -150% 45 + 38% 4
Florida - 42% 14 -137% 41
Georgia -123% 35 - 34% 21
Mississippi -107% 30 - 26% 19
Tennessee - 48% 16 - 17% 14
State Prisons
State # of Prisoners Incarcertaion
Prisoners Prisoners % Change per 10,000 Rate
2003 Rank 2002-03 Population Rank
Alabama 28,440 15 3.4% 612 5
Florida 80,352 3 N/A 472 12
Georgia 47,004 6 1.3% 541 7
Mississippi 20,542 23 6.5% 688 3
Tennessee 25,409 17 4.7% 435 17
State Spending on Police Protection
State Total Total As
Total per % Personal
(in Millions) Capita Income
Alabama $129 $29 0.1%
Florida $425 $25 0.1%
Georgia $272 $32 0.1%
Mississippi $ 68 $24 0.1%
Tennessee $132 $23 0.1%
State Spending on Corrections
State Total Total As
Total per % Personal
(in Millions) Capita Income
Alabama $ 331 $ 74 0.3%
Florida $2,200 $132 0.4%
Georgia $1,272 $149 0.5%
Mississippi $ 272 $ 95 0.4%
Tennessee $ 530 $ 91 0.3%
Welfare Recipients
Recipients Recipients Caseload %
Welfare per 10,000 per 10,000 Change Change
Recipients Residents Rank 2002-03 Rank
Alabama 45,792 102 39 11.6% 43
Florida 115,510 68 48 -2.8% 15
Georgia 131,349 151 27 3.8% 33
Mississippi 45,152 157 23 13.2% 45
Tennessee 184,253 315 2 11.9% 44
State Welfare Spending
State Total Total As
Total per % Personal
(in Millions) Capita Income
Alabama $ 4,110 $ 918 3.6%
Florida $11,879 $ 712 2.4%
Georgia $ 6,525 $ 764 2.6%
Mississippi $ 3,413 $1,190 5.3%
Tennessee $ 6,896 $1,191 4.3%
State Health & Hospital Spending
State Total Total As
Total per % Personal
(in Millions) Capita Income
Alabama $ 1,837 $410 1.6%
Florida $ 2,848 $171 0.6%
Georgia $ 1,443 $169 0.6%
Mississippi $ 933 $325 1.4%
Tennessee $ 1,237 $214 0.8%
Health Insurance Coverage
Total % Total % Total Eligibles Eligibles
Uninsured Population Uninsured Medicaid per 1,000 per 1,000
Persons Uninsured Rank Eligible population Rank
Alabama 564,000 12.7% 29 845,125 189 16
Florida 2,843,000 17.3% 9 2,691,502 161 24
Georgia 1,354,000 16.1% 16 1,459,631 171 21
Mississippi 465,000 16.7% 13 707,986 247 5
Tennessee 614,000 10.8% 38 1,700,684 294 1
State Technology Spending
$1,000
Million or $250-$1,000 $50-$249 Less Than
More Million Million $50 Million
Alabama X
Florida X
Georgia X
Mississippi X
Tennessee X
State Web Site Ratings
Points Rank % Sites Avg # % Sites % Sites % Sites
Out of Change With Online Accepting Privacy Secure
100 Rank 2001-03 Svcs Svcs Cred Cards Features Policy
Ala 31.9 46 +2 25% 0.6 9% 22% 9
Fla 40.3 9 0 52% 3.3 19% 55% 6
Ga 35.8 31 +6 36% 1.6 15% 45% 39
Miss 31.5 47 -5 26% 2.0 13% 26% 6
Tenn 41.4 4 0 39% 1.8 26% 81% 81
Technology in the Schools
Students per Students per Students per Students per
Instructional Instructional Internet Internet
Computer Computer Rank Computer Computer Rank
Alabama 4.9 45 5.3 43
Florida 3.7 21 4.4 29
Georgia 4.1 33 4.6 34
Mississippi 5.1 47 5.3 43
Tennessee 4.5 36 5.1 39
* This information was calculated and compiled by Governing Magazine, and nobody associated with this website is responsible for its accuracy.
