Washington State ranks 26th in the country for the amount of federal COVID aid it has received through April 15, 2021, according to the latest data compiled by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. Thus far, Washington has received, $54.6 billion in federal COVID relief and $7,177 in federal relief per capita.
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The tracker shows the latest-available data measuring how much federal COVID aid has been distributed to each state overall and per capita, as well as a breakdown of 18 different programs.
As displayed in the above graphic, the Paycheck Protection Program accounts for the largest share of Washington’s federal aid at $17.7 billion. Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation ($7.3 billion) and Economic Impact Payments ($6.1 billion) also made up a large chunk of the federal funds. The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund was the smallest source of federal funds.
Washington D.C. ranked first in federal relief per capita at $12,845 , with New York, Vermont, Massachusetts and North Dakota rounding out the top five. The bottom five recipients through April 15, 2021, are U.S. Territories, Utah, North Carolina, South Carolina and Arkansas.
Nationwide, there is still a significant sum of COVID relief funds left to be disbursed, as funds are distributed on a rolling basis. For example, only 43% of Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation has been disbursed to date as a percent of the total amount authorized. Across all programs looked at by the Peterson Foundation, about 70% of total aid has been disbursed.
While the largest states often received the largest disbursements within each program, the amount disbursed per capita varies bases on the design of each individual COVID-19 relief programs. These programs includes a different set of criteria for how the money is allocated.
Congress has enacted six pieces of relief legislation since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, 2020. These include the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted on March 27, 2020, and the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP), enacted on March 11, 2021.
The six relief bills are expected to cost a total of $5.3 trillion and send direct aid to governments, federal support for education, enhanced unemployment benefits and other programs.
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