Policy Study

25th Annual Highway Report: Total Disbursements Per Mile

In total, the 50 states disbursed about $151.8 billion for state-owned roads in 2018.

Since capital and bridge, maintenance, and administrative disbursements make up the majority of expenditures (74.6% in 2018), this report measures them individually and collectively. Total Disbursements include those three funding categories, plus three others:  Highway Law Enforcement and Safety, Interest, and Bond Retirement.

In total, the 50 states disbursed about $151.8 billion for state-owned roads in 2018, a 9.2% increase from $139.0 billion in 2016, the last time this assessment was completed.

In the 25th Annual Highway Report, we measure average state disbursement per state highway agency (SHA), lane-mile, and vehicle-miles traveled per lane-mile. Last year, we measured the average state disbursements per lane-mile. In past years, we measured them in centerline-miles. The average 2018 per mile  disbursement is $94,870 per lane-mile and $308,558 per SHA, up 33.4% (from $71,117 per lane-mile) and 80.4% (from $171,035 per SHA) from 2016. These increases are significantly higher than in previous years. Since 2007, these per-mile disbursements have increased by about 130%, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has increased by about 22%.

In 2018, Missouri, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Dakota, and Tennessee reported the lowest expenditures.

New Jersey, Massachusetts, Alaska, Delaware, and Maryland reported the highest per-mile expenditures.

In terms of disbursements per lane-mile, the largest percentage shifts from 2016 to 2018 were Idaho and North Dakota (with increases of more than 70% and 45%, respectively) and Alabama and West Virginia (with decreases of more than 60%).

In terms of disbursements per SHA, the largest percentage shifts from 2016 to 2018 were Washington and Oregon (which increased by 146% and 89%, respectively) and North Dakota and Kentucky (which decreased by 45% and 22%, respectively).

Some of the disbursements per state-controlled mile can vary widely from year to year—reflecting funding actions and project schedules.

Total Disbursements Per State-Controlled Mile
2018 RankStateZ ScoreDisbursement Per SHADisbursement Per Lane MileDisbursement Per VMT
1Missouri-2.1$60,571$26,257$26,759
2Mississippi-1.98$92,741$35,574$24,867
3South Carolina-1.98$46,293$21,076$33,656
4North Dakota-1.93$47,253$20,115$35,445
5Tennessee-1.87$128,677$46,421$22,026
6South Dakota-1.7$53,966$18,968$43,044
7Kansas-1.65$102,264$42,833$32,684
8Nebraska-1.53$85,030$37,003$40,316
9Arkansas-1.52$98,223$23,547$44,102
10Kentucky-1.42$80,255$34,969$44,824
11Idaho-1.42$159,626$17,765$44,907
12Wyoming-1.35$76,041$30,261$49,137
13Montana-1.35$62,315$19,694$54,086
14North Carolina-1.31$74,738$34,122$49,368
15Michigan-1.22$237,808$83,698$22,471
16New Mexico-1.21$117,328$28,502$51,393
17Arizona-1.17$284,460$59,205$29,175
18Alabama-1.16$201,622$73,139$30,980
19Minnesota-1.11$187,741$64,697$36,447
20Louisiana-1.11$131,730$55,793$43,911
21Ohio-1.07$201,063$73,628$33,809
22Georgia-1.06$221,257$79,969$30,205
23New Hampshire-1.01$148,948$67,162$42,200
24Maine-0.98$97,150$44,766$54,870
25Iowa-0.89$171,777$62,530$45,899
26Colorado-0.88$219,751$79,052$36,795
27Indiana-0.85$239,002$89,568$32,642
28Texas-0.84$163,901$66,761$46,755
29Wisconsin-0.78$215,185$84,970$38,353
30Nevada-0.5$235,642$88,579$44,967
31Oklahoma-0.29$213,242$78,437$57,491
32Virginia-0.26$110,010$50,535$76,085
33Vermont-0.16$179,239$78,520$64,122
34Oregon-0.14$263,028$90,259$54,307
35Hawaii-0.1$374,574$132,132$32,548
36Utah0.04$293,391$102,274$53,831
37Illinois0.43$357,791$128,373$52,697
38West Virginia0.72$67,120$32,259$118,757
39Washington1.06$583,723$101,175$65,994
40California1.07$681,141$185,549$29,470
41Rhode Island1.11$438,564$154,558$60,290
42Connecticut1.36$495,676$171,664$58,343
43Pennsylvania1.76$275,551$118,305$107,215
44New York2.18$565,644$203,876$69,058
45Florida2.66$884,395$239,203$48,259
46Maryland3.35$799,894$263,777$69,103
47Delaware3.87$313,457$140,970$167,214
48Alaska3.91$199,094$63,688$204,392
49Massachusetts4.71$1,264,325$326,464$56,918
50New Jersey11.69$2,825,682$570,856$85,056
Average$308,558$94,870$53,945
View national trends and state-by-state performances by category:
overall
Overall
total-disbursements-per-mile
Total Disbursements Per Mile
capital-bridge-disbursements-per-mile
Capital & Bridge Disbursements Per Mile
maintenance-disbursements-per-mile
Maintenance Disbursements Per Mile
administrative-disbursements-per-mile
Administrative Disbursements Per Mile
rural-interstate-percent-poor-condition
Rural Interstate Pavement Condition
rural-other-principal-arterial-percent-narrow-lanes
Rural Arterial Pavement Condition
urban-interstate-percent-poor-condition
Urban Interstate Pavement Condition
rural-other-principal-arterial-percent-poor-condition
Urban Arterial Pavement Condition
urbanized-area-congestion-peak-hours-spent-in-congestion-per-auto-commuter
Urbanized Area Congestion
bridges-percent-deficient
Structurally Deficient Bridges
fatality-rate-per-100-million-vehicle-miles-of-travel
Overall Fatality Rate
fatality-rate-per-100-million-vehicle-miles-of-travel
Rural Fatality Rate
fatality-rate-per-100-million-vehicle-miles-of-travel
Urban Fatality Rate