A Comparison of Florida and New York State

I saw this bit on the relative populations of New York and Florida, and some data about how much the states spend. I found it to be interesting.

First the population data that I ran across. I'm surprised that New York has stayed that stable. I would have expected a decrease in the population.

25 years ago, Florida was 16% (3M) smaller than New York.

Today, Florida is 19% (3.8M) larger. pic.twitter.com/Gu4vrxV8Iq

— RIP MASSACHUSETTS (@theripsnorter) March 22, 2026

It made me wonder about the respective state budgets. So I turned to an AI app for some info. I was mostly limited to proposed budgets, as opposed to what they actually spent based on the time I had for additional research.

First NY State: NYS Fiscal Year 2026 Executive Budget Proposal – January 22, 2025

Overall, the Executive Budget proposes total spending of $252 billion in FY 2026, an increase of $8.6 billion or 3.6% from revised FY 2025 estimates.

Because of course there needs to be an increase.

Now let's look at Florida: Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Florida Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget

Today, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025–2026, totaling $117.4 billion after $567 million in line-item vetoes.

Florida has a population that is 19% larger than New York State, and yet has a budget that is only 46.6 percent of the budget of New York State. Less than half.

Now there may some reasons for spending more in certain areas. Florida doesn't have to plow snow, after all. But to spend twice as much as Florida, on a smaller population... I think someone might need to open a fraud investigation in Albany. They certainly need to ask what they are spending money on.