Research ยท October 2026
2,726 local governments still had $100,000 or more in ARPA money to spend
American Rescue Plan money that a local government has not spent by December 31, 2026 goes back to Treasury. In Treasury's latest public data, 2,726 cities, counties and other local governments still had at least $100,000 unspent, about $7.6 billion in all. 1,526 of them had $500,000 or more.
Most smaller governments won't report to Treasury again until April 2027.
That report comes four months after the deadline. Until then, the public won't learn which governments ran out of time and lost money. Some of these balances will clear on paper, since much of the money is revenue replacement. Projects still marked as in progress are the ones at real risk.
- $7.6 billionunspent at governments with $100,000 or more open
- 2,726local governments with $100,000 or more unspent
- 1,526of them with $500,000 or more unspent
Unspent ARPA money by state
Every state, plus Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. Select a column heading to sort the table.
Showing all 52
| Texas | 208 | 111 | $647,389,379 |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 162 | 115 | $812,656,750 |
| New York | 136 | 67 | $460,928,345 |
| Florida | 122 | 80 | $408,100,798 |
| Massachusetts | 120 | 56 | $280,591,512 |
| Ohio | 117 | 62 | $230,163,115 |
| Indiana | 106 | 59 | $211,700,976 |
| Georgia | 96 | 62 | $234,016,193 |
| Illinois | 78 | 46 | $409,416,854 |
| Mississippi | 78 | 33 | $83,513,007 |
| Pennsylvania | 76 | 44 | $274,432,944 |
| Missouri | 72 | 34 | $254,517,040 |
| New Jersey | 70 | 39 | $258,833,882 |
| Michigan | 70 | 49 | $418,131,680 |
| Virginia | 68 | 40 | $178,419,149 |
| North Carolina | 64 | 46 | $195,779,943 |
| Louisiana | 64 | 32 | $134,697,389 |
| Tennessee | 63 | 30 | $125,848,657 |
| South Carolina | 63 | 37 | $144,100,748 |
| Connecticut | 57 | 30 | $99,704,576 |
| Alabama | 54 | 28 | $145,332,272 |
| Maryland | 53 | 28 | $152,123,455 |
| West Virginia | 53 | 32 | $55,657,288 |
| Wisconsin | 50 | 28 | $86,223,558 |
| Oklahoma | 49 | 30 | $143,424,376 |
| Iowa | 46 | 18 | $36,253,845 |
| Kentucky | 39 | 24 | $67,554,666 |
| Colorado | 38 | 20 | $87,028,521 |
| Puerto Rico | 38 | 25 | $86,025,501 |
| Washington | 37 | 26 | $103,770,175 |
| Minnesota | 32 | 14 | $30,380,453 |
| Oregon | 31 | 18 | $75,567,358 |
| New Mexico | 31 | 16 | $50,366,758 |
| Kansas | 31 | 14 | $32,435,741 |
| Maine | 31 | 17 | $50,969,788 |
| Arkansas | 28 | 13 | $42,785,973 |
| Rhode Island | 27 | 18 | $39,472,762 |
| Arizona | 21 | 17 | $191,635,029 |
| Nebraska | 20 | 8 | $37,403,303 |
| Idaho | 20 | 13 | $36,982,242 |
| New Hampshire | 16 | 4 | $28,201,016 |
| Montana | 15 | 6 | $10,247,169 |
| Utah | 14 | 10 | $22,838,341 |
| Delaware | 13 | 8 | $31,706,491 |
| Vermont | 10 | 2 | $3,534,340 |
| Wyoming | 9 | 3 | $5,378,929 |
| Nevada | 8 | 6 | $22,318,802 |
| North Dakota | 8 | 2 | $5,164,236 |
| Alaska | 6 | 1 | $5,551,264 |
| Hawaii | 4 | 4 | $52,179,619 |
| South Dakota | 3 | 1 | $3,442,619 |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 1 | 0 | $102,064 |
| All states and territories | 2,726 | 1,526 | $7,605,000,891 |
Source: Celsari analysis of Treasury's State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds public reporting data, covering activity through March 31, 2026. Unspent means a government's total reported obligations minus its total reported expenditures. Governments with less than $100,000 unspent are not counted.
What the numbers mean
The American Rescue Plan's State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds had to be under contract by December 31, 2024. They must be spent, meaning cash paid out, by December 31, 2026. Money still unspent after that date is returned to Treasury.
A balance on this table is not the same as money that will be lost. Many governments used their award as revenue replacement for general government services, and those balances often clear quickly once the books are closed out. Governments have also kept spending since March 31. The balances most at risk belong to projects still marked as in progress, where the work has to be finished and paid for before the year ends.
Treasury lets a government move obligated funds that won't be spent in time to another eligible project that was under contract by the 2024 deadline. That move has to be documented. Here is how ARPA closeout works, and a closeout checklist for finance staff.
Why the public won't know until 2027
Larger recipients report to Treasury every quarter. Most smaller governments report once a year, in April, and the final report for the whole program is due April 30, 2027. So for most of the governments counted here, the next public figures will appear four months after the money is due. By then, any balance that wasn't spent is already gone.
How we counted
- We used Treasury's public reporting data for the program, which covers activity through March 31, 2026.
- For each local government, we subtracted its total reported expenditures from its total reported obligations.
- We counted local governments with $100,000 or more left, and separately those with $500,000 or more.
Limits of these numbers
- They are a snapshot as of March 31, 2026. Spending since then does not show up until the next reports.
- They are what governments reported themselves. A late or missing report can make a balance look larger or smaller than it is.
- An unspent balance is not a finding that anything was done wrong, or that money will be lost.
For reporters
We can send the list of local governments in your state or coverage area that still had $100,000 or more open, from the same data. Ask by email through our contact page.
How to cite this page
Celsari, "2,726 local governments still had $100,000 or more in ARPA money to spend," October 2026, https://celsari.com/research/arpa-unspent-by-state-2026/
Still have ARPA money to spend?
We'd be glad to help you close out on time. Send us your open-project list, and we will tell you plainly whether any balance is at risk and what can still be done before December 31.