The Civitas Institute has posted this study examining the true debt burden of state and local governments across North Carolina.
State and local governments across North Carolina have accumulated nearly $90 billion in debt and unfunded liabilities. That’s equivalent to more than $9,600 for every man, woman, and child across the state – or approximately $38,650 for a family of four.
To better inform citizens about the fiscal condition of North Carolina’s state and local governments, the Civitas Institute has tallied this comprehensive collection of true debt. The total debt burden, as of June 30, 2008, comes to $89.2 billion.
Those numbers reflect the hypothetical “if the total state and local debt/liabilities were spread evenly across the state” scenario to provide some context of the size of the numbers. Of course, in reality, some localities carry a heavier debt burden than others. I did some calculations, and figured the average debt load of some of North Carolina’s largest cities. In short, if you look at, say, each resident of Raleigh and calculate their share of state debt, Wake County debt and City of Raleigh debt, you get a whopping average of $109,836 per family of four (by far the highest of any major city in NC). Here are six other cities and their average debt burden per family of four.
- Charlotte: $65,724
- Cary: $50,584
- Greensboro: $44,776
- Durham: $36,948
- Fayetteville: $31,064
- Asheville: $31,008
Accompanying the article are spreadsheets containing comprehensive listings of local debt and unfunded liability levels. Check it out and see how far in debt your local government is.
Leave a Comment