Overview

This data dictionary describes the data sets used to produce figures in the Kids’ Share 2025 digital report [link to digital report]. The project collects data from a variety of sources, detailed in our technical appendix [link to technical appendix], to calculate estimates of federal spending on children (up to 18 years old). We also produce limited estimates of federal spending on older adults (65 and older) and state and local spending on children.

Data Dictionary

Federal Spending on Kids versus Other Types of Spending

File: figure01.csv

• Federal outlays for 2024 by category as share of total outlays
• Each row represents a spending category (Spend_Cat) and the percentage of the total budget spent on that category (Amount)
• For the Spend_Cat value “Total federal outlays in trillions of dollars,” the Amount is in trillions of dollars

File: figure02.csv

• Actual and projected federal outlays from 1960 to 2035, by category, as a share of total outlays
• Each row represents a spending category (Spend_Cat) and the percentage of the total budget spent on that category (Amount) for that year (Year)
• For the Spend_Cat value “Total federal outlays in trillions of dollars,” the Amount is in trillions of dollars instead of a percentage
• Estimates from 2025 onwards are projections and are delineated in the data with the Spend_Cat label “(projected)”

File: figure03.csv

• Actual and projected federal outlays from 1960 to 2035, by category, as a share of GDP
• Each row represents a spending category (Spend_Cat) and the amount spent on that category as a share of the GDP (Share_of_GDP) for that year (Year) -Estimates from 2025 onwards are projections and are delineated in the data with the Spend_Cat label “(projected)”

File: figure04.csv

• Federal revenues and select components of spending from 1960 to 2035, as a share of GDP
• Each row represents a revenue or spending category (Spend_Cat) and the amount spent on that category as a share of GDP (Share_of_GDP) for that year (Year)
• Estimates from 2025 onwards are projections and are delineated in the data with the Spend_Cat label “(projected)”

File: figure05.csv

• Per-person outlays on children and older adults from 1965 to 2024, in 2024 dollars
• Each row represents the inflation-adjusted per-person spending amount (Spending) on children under 19 years old or adults 65 and older (Age) for that year (Year)
• For the Age value “Ratio,” the Spending column represents the ratio of spending on older adults to children

Federal Spending on Kids by Category and Program

File: figure06.csv

• Federal expenditures on children by category from 2014 to 2035, in billions of 2024 dollars
• Each row represents inflation-adjusted spending on children in billions of 2024 dollars (Amount) by major spending category (Category) for that year (Year)
• Estimates from 2025 onwards are projections and are delineated in the data with the Category label “(projected)”

File: figure07.csv

• Federal expenditures on children by category and major programs in 2024, in billions of 2024 dollars
• Each row represents spending on children in billions of 2024 dollars (Amount) through a major program (Program name) and the corresponding category (Major Program Area)
• Programs with spending less than $10 billion are included in the “Other” program (Program name) within each spending category
• The Program name value of “Total” within each Major Program Area represents the total amount spent on children in that category

File: figure08.csv

• Federal expenditures on children by category for 2019, 2024, and 2035, as a share of GDP
• Each row represents a major category of spending on children (Spend_Cat) and the amount spent on children through that category as a share of GDP (Share of GDP) for that year (Year)
• Estimates for 2035 are projections and are delineated in the data with the Spend_Cat label “(projected)”

File: figure09.csv

• Tax and outlay components of federal spending on children from 1960 to 2035, as a share of GDP
• Each row represents a component of federal spending (Spend_Cat) and the amount spent on children through that category as a share of GDP (Share of GDP) for that year (Year)
• Estimates from 2025 onwards are projections and are delineated in the data with the Spend_Cat label “(projected)”

File: figure10.csv

• Federal tax provisions for children from 2017 to 2029, in billions of 2024 dollars
• Each row represents a tax provision, separated by tax expenditures and outlays, where relevant (Tax category) and the amount spent on children through that provision in billions of 2024 dollars (Amount in billions of 2024 dollars) for a given year (Year)
• The Tax category value of “Total” reports the total amount spent through the tax code on children (Amount in billions of 2024 dollars)
• Estimates from 2025 onwards are projections

File: figure11.csv

• Share of federal expenditures on children from in-kind versus cash payment benefits from 1965 to 2035
• Each row represents a type of federal expenditure on children (Federal cash and in-kind expenditures) and its share out of the total spending on children (Percentage of expenditures on children) in a given year (Year)
• Estimates from 2025 onwards are projections

File: figure12.csv

• Share of federal expenditures on children from universal versus income-targeted programs from 1965 to 2035
• Each row represents a type of spending on children categorized by whether it is income-targeted (Income targeting) and its share of total spending on children (Percentage of expenditures on children) in a given year (Year)
• Estimates from 2025 onwards are projections

Spending on Kids by Level of Government

File: figure13.csv

• Outlays per child by level of government from 2005 to 2022, in 2024 dollars
• Each row represents the amount spent per child in 2024 dollars (Outlays per child by level of government in 2024 dollars) by level of government (Level_of_Gov) in a given year (Year)
• The Level_of_Gov value of “Total” reports the total amount spent across levels of government in a year (Outlays per child by level of government in 2024 dollars)

File: figure14.csv

• Outlays per child for selected categories by level of government for 2022, in 2024 dollars
• Each row represents the amount spent per child in 2024 dollars (Amount) by category (Spend_Cat) and level of government (Level_of_Gov) in 2022
• The Level_of_Gov value of “Total” reports the total amount spent within a spending category (Spend_Cat) across all levels of government
• The Spend_Cat value of “Total” represents the total amount spent within a level of government (Level_of_Gov) across all spending categories

File: figure15.csv

• Outlays per child and older adult by level of government for 2022, in 2024 dollars
• Each row represents the amount spent per child or older adult (Age_Group) in 2024 dollars (Amount) by level of government (Level_of_Gov) in 2022
• The Level_of_Gov value of “Total” represents the total amount (Amount) spent per child or older adult (Age_Group) across all levels of government