These states spend the most on public welfare programs

While Congress is moving full-steam ahead on tax reform, President Donald Trump said earlier this month that welfare reform will be one of the next big items on the White House agenda.

"We’re looking very strongly at welfare reform, and that’ll all take place right after taxes, very soon, very shortly after taxes," he said.

In fiscal year 2017, welfare costs were estimated to be around $1.145 trillion. But the costs were not distributed equally among all 50 states.

A new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Data, conducted by GO Banking Rates and HowMuch.net, looked at state-by-state welfare expenditures and found that the top 10 states spend more, collectively, than the bottom 40 states and the District of Columbia, combined.

California, which leads the pack by a landslide, spends about $103 billion on welfare programs, which include Medicaid, food stamps and public housing.

New York spends $61.4 billion, clocking in at second place on the list, followed by Texas at $35.4 billion.

On the other end of the spectrum, less populous states spend significantly less on government assistance programs. South Dakota spends $1 billion, North Dakota spends $1.4 billion and Montana spends $1.6 billion.

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Here are the states that round out the top 10:

1.       California ($103B)

2.       New York ($61.4B)

3.       Texas ($35.4B)

4.       Florida ($27.2B)

5.       Pennsylvania ($26.7B)

6.       Illinois ($21B)

7.       Ohio ($20B)

8.       Massachusetts ($18.6B)

9.       New Jersey ($17.3B)

10.     Michigan ($16.3B)