Let It Rain! Days each state could run on only rainy day funds in FY 2017.

• Position: TRENDS - Brief article

States' rainy day funds increased for a seventh straight year in FY 2017, to a record $54.7 billion total. That was enough to run state government operations for an average of 20.5 days, also a new high. Early estimates show savings at near-peak levels in FY 2018 as well. Those figures are not yet finalized but will probably rise once missing and final data are counted.

Rainy day funds, sometimes called budget stabilization funds, vary greatly across the country. Alaska and Wyoming had saved enough money to last more than year, while five states couldn't have lasted more than a day on the savings in their funds. These reserve funds have become the largest component of states' financial cushions, accounting for more than 70 cents of every $1 in total balances, compared with 44 cents of every $1 just before the recession. Despite budget pressure from slow tax...