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U.S. State28th State • December 29, 1845
Texas TX
"The Lone Star State"
The biggest state in the contiguous United States. The second most populous. An independent republic for nine years before joining the Union, and a culture that has never quite forgotten it. Texas is a place of extraordinary contrasts: Gulf Coast petrochemical giants and Hill Country wildflower fields, border cities that speak Spanish on both sides of the Rio Grande, and the silicon-infused skyline of Austin, the fastest-growing major city in America. There is no state quite like it.
Texas state finances at a glance
State Debt - FY2024
$70.1 billion
Total state government debt outstanding at the close of fiscal 2024, including long-term bonds and short-term borrowing across state agencies and public universities.
Tax Revenue - FY2024
$87.4 billion
Total Texas state tax collections in fiscal 2024. Texas has no individual income tax, so collections are led by the state sales and use tax ($54B), with oil and gas severance taxes ($8.6B) and motor vehicle taxes next.
Borrowing
Texas requires a constitutional amendment, approved by voters, to authorize most new state general obligation debt, backed either by the general fund or by dedicated revenues. Bonds are sold to investors in the municipal market, and a constitutional limit caps general obligation debt service payable from general revenue at 5 percent of an average of recent unrestricted revenue. The state reported about $1.8 billion in interest on its debt in fiscal 2024.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State Government Finances.
1845
Year of statehood
31.3M
People, 2nd most populous
268K mi²
2nd largest state in the US
9 Years
As an independent republic