(The Center Square) – Southwest and southern Virginia receive more general fund spending per dollar paid in state taxes than northern Virginia and the Richmond region, a legislative report found.

The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission presented the findings Tuesday in a new analysis included in its annual state spending report.

The analysis examined about $30 billion in general fund tax revenue and $26 billion in spending during fiscal 2025. It counted money paid directly to local governments and spending on behalf of their residents, including Medicaid and higher education.

State general fund spending ranged from about $4.75 for every tax dollar paid in Richmond County to 23 cents in Goochland County. Richmond County is separate from the city of Richmond.

The commission attributed much of the difference to funding formulas that provide more assistance to communities with fewer resources or more low-income residents.

K-12 funding, for example, uses a formula to determine how much local governments can afford to contribute toward education costs.

Communities with less capacity to pay receive a larger state share.

Lee County received about $1,675 per resident in state K-12 funding, compared with $421 in Alexandria, the report found.

Medicaid spending followed a similar pattern. Danville, Petersburg, Martinsville and the city of Franklin received more than $2,000 per resident in state Medicaid-related spending. Arlington, Loudoun, Falls Church and Goochland received less than $450.

Ellen Miller, the commission’s chief economic development and quantitative analyst, told commission members that communities where both poverty and unemployment rates exceed statewide averages also tended to receive more general fund spending per resident.

A lower return per tax dollar did not mean a locality received little state funding overall.

Fairfax County residents and businesses contributed an estimated $6.5 billion in general fund tax revenue, while spending attributed to the county totaled about $2.6 billion. Fairfax ranked first in both categories.

Eight of the 10 largest revenue-generating localities were in northern Virginia or the Richmond metropolitan area.

Higher education spending differed from the broader pattern. It was concentrated in communities with higher college attendance rates, including northern Virginia cities and cities near colleges.

The comparison covers general fund dollars rather than all state revenue and spending. It excludes federal grants, transportation funding and other dedicated funds, along with capital expenditures and some general fund spending that could not reasonably be assigned to individual localities.

The broader report found Virginia’s fiscal 2026 operating budget reached $94.3 billion, up 1.6% from the previous year. Medicaid, K-12 education and higher education drove most budget growth over the past decade.

Miller said growth was relatively modest after accounting for inflation and population increases.