Administrative disbursements typically include general and main-office expenditures in support of state-administered highways. They do not include project-related costs but occasionally include “parked” funds, which are funds from bond sales or asset sales awaiting later expenditure. Therefore, they can vary widely from year to year. Administrative disbursements compose about 6.4% of total disbursements, totaling $10.08 billion in 2020, the same amount as in 2019, the last time this assessment was completed.
Last year, we measured administrative disbursements per lane-mile. For 2018, we measured administrative disbursements per centerlinemile, lane-mile, and vehiclemiles traveled (VMT) per lanemile. In this analysis for 2020 we measure disbursements per lane adjusted for urbanization. For this process, we take the disbursement per lane-mile and divide it by the expected disbursement per lane-mile to get a ratio. The average 2020 per lane-mile disbursement is $5,342 (Table 9, Administrative Disbursements per State, 2020, Figure 4). The average disbursement per lane-mile decreased 0.2% from 2019 ($5,351 disbursement per lane-mile), the last time this assessment was completed. This change, while technically a decrease, is in line with a generally steady spending trend over the last decade. Since 2007, total administrative disbursements have increased about 27.4%, the same amount as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which has also increased about 27.4%.
In 2020, Kentucky, Arkansas, South Carolina, Louisiana, and West Virginia reported the lowest administrative expenditure ratios, after adjusting for urbanization. Vermont, Delaware, New Mexico, Nevada, and South Dakota reported the highest expenditures ratios. The 2020 Administrative Disbursement ratios by state cannot be compared to previous years, as the methodology has changed. Some administrative disbursements per state-controlled lane-mile can vary widely from year to year reflecting funding actions and project schedules.
Administrative Disbursements Ratio
| 2020 Rank | State | Disbursement Per Lane-Mile | Expected Disbursement per Lane-Mile | Adjusted Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky | $552 | $4,871 | 0.11 |
| 2 | Arkansas | $1,030 | $5,492 | 0.19 |
| 3 | South Carolina | $1,399 | $7,184 | 0.19 |
| 4 | Louisiana | $1,339 | $6,817 | 0.2 |
| 5 | West Virginia | $932 | $4,434 | 0.21 |
| 6 | Nebraska | $852 | $3,442 | 0.25 |
| 7 | Maine | $1,305 | $4,605 | 0.28 |
| 8 | North Carolina | $2,158 | $6,940 | 0.31 |
| 9 | Texas | $2,178 | $6,617 | 0.32 |
| 10 | Mississippi | $2,135 | $5,267 | 0.41 |
| 11 | Illinois | $4,248 | $9,973 | 0.43 |
| 12 | North Dakota | $1,177 | $2,623 | 0.45 |
| 13 | Michigan | $4,648 | $9,516 | 0.49 |
| 14 | Missouri | $2,349 | $4,805 | 0.49 |
| 15 | Indiana | $3,760 | $6,773 | 0.56 |
| 16 | Connecticut | $8,093 | $14,256 | 0.57 |
| 17 | Iowa | $3,009 | $5,208 | 0.58 |
| 18 | Utah | $4,211 | $7,175 | 0.59 |
| 19 | Virginia | $3,709 | $6,278 | 0.59 |
| 20 | Montana | $1,751 | $2,895 | 0.6 |
| 21 | Hawaii | $7,574 | $12,313 | 0.62 |
| 22 | Idaho | $2,644 | $4,195 | 0.63 |
| 23 | Maryland | $7,959 | $12,054 | 0.66 |
| 24 | Wyoming | $2,669 | $3,716 | 0.76 |
| 25 | Kansas | $3,361 | $4,394 | 0.76 |
| 26 | Tennessee | $6,234 | $7,986 | 0.78 |
| 27 | Alaska | $3,881 | $4,942 | 0.79 |
| 28 | Florida | $10,006 | $12,686 | 0.79 |
| 29 | Rhode Island | $12,424 | $13,652 | 0.91 |
| 30 | Wisconsin | $6,046 | $6,473 | 0.93 |
| 31 | California | $11,159 | $10,813 | 1.03 |
| 32 | Massachusetts | $17,528 | $16,692 | 1.05 |
| 33 | Minnesota | $6,209 | $5,696 | 1.09 |
| 34 | Georgia | $9,780 | $8,559 | 1.14 |
| 35 | New Jersey | $20,337 | $17,397 | 1.17 |
| 36 | New York | $12,183 | $10,225 | 1.19 |
| 37 | Ohio | $12,329 | $8,648 | 1.42 |
| 38 | Pennsylvania | $10,700 | $7,428 | 1.44 |
| 39 | Oregon | $8,664 | $5,875 | 1.47 |
| 40 | Colorado | $9,679 | $6,391 | 1.51 |
| 41 | Oklahoma | $8,132 | $5,322 | 1.53 |
| 42 | Alabama | $11,328 | $7,280 | 1.56 |
| 43 | Arizona | $11,191 | $6,998 | 1.6 |
| 44 | Washington | $16,216 | $7,384 | 2.2 |
| 45 | New Hampshire | $12,942 | $5,794 | 2.23 |
| 46 | South Dakota | $6,326 | $2,738 | 2.31 |
| 47 | Nevada | $13,614 | $5,797 | 2.34 |
| 48 | New Mexico | $10,672 | $4,210 | 2.53 |
| 49 | Delaware | $29,795 | $11,506 | 2.59 |
| 50 | Vermont | $13,545 | $4,216 | 3.21 |
The Difference Between Maintenance and Administrative Disbursements
Certain disbursement data can be counted in one of several categories. One example is benefits (vacation, health care, etc.) of state department of transportation maintenance workers. Certain states such as New Jersey count the benefits as a maintenance disbursement since the employees are conducting routine highway maintenance. Other states such as Delaware count the benefits as an administrative disbursement since benefits are an administrative expense. Not surprisingly, of the two states, New Jersey ranks in the bottom 10 in Maintenance Disbursements and Delaware has a bottom 10 ranking in Administrative Disbursements. As a result, it is important to look at both the individual disbursement categories and disbursements as a whole, as states have some leeway in their classification of certain expenditures.