This indicator represents the extent of state spending for higher education as a proportion of its gross domestic product (GDP).

Appropriations data are drawn from the annual State Higher Education Finance report produced by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO). SHEEO collects data on all state and local revenues used to support higher education, including revenue from taxes, lottery receipts, royalty revenue, and state-funded endowments.

Because of decreases in state tax collections in FYs 2009–11 during the Great Recession, state monies allocated to higher education decreased in many states. This decrease was offset to a degree by federal stimulus funds that were used to restore the level of state support for public higher education. Nationally, state financial support of higher education operating expenses relative to GDP has experienced a downward trend since the early 2000s. The state monies used to calculate this indicator do not include federal stimulus funds for education stabilization or federal, state, or local government funds for the modernization, renovation, or repair of higher education facilities.

Data sources: State Higher Education Executive Officers Association; Bureau of Economic Analysis, gross domestic product data; Government of Puerto Rico, Office of the Governor, gross domestic product data.