The Annual Government Finance series consists of several component surveys, some of which are fully described in other portions of this website, but are mentioned here to highlight their inter-related nature. There is a general order in which results of these components are released. Also, the survey data overlap (are used in multiple components), so that users often can obtain statistics in one survey before they are available in another.

	The surveys covering tax statistics are the most current and are released first (State Government Tax Collections and the companion Quarterly Summary of State and Local Government Tax Revenue).
	Statistics about public employee retirement systems also are very current and are generally released next (the annual survey of State and Local Government Public Employee Retirement systems and the Quarterly Survey of Public Pensions).
	These surveys are followed by the annual survey of State Government Finances (which also contains state tax and state retirement systems data).
	The annual survey of State and Local Government Finances is released next. Utilizing data obtained via a variety of mail, Internet, coordinated arrangements with states, staff compilations of source documents, and melding in data from other finance component surveys, it is our most comprehensive source of government financial activity.
	The annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances is generally followed by the associated annual survey of Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finance Data, which contains universe coverage for all public school systems.

The annual survey of State Government Finances contains relatively detailed figures on taxes and all other finances, nationally and for each of the 50 state governments.

The annual survey of State and Local Government Finances contains current estimates of government financial activity. Data include estimates of revenue by type, expenditure by purpose and function, debt, and financial assets by type - all in detail similar to that found in the Census of Governments. Estimates are shown for state and local governments combined, as well as for local governments. (State government data are not estimates, but rather actual measures from the surveys on state government finances mentioned previously.) Geographic coverage includes estimates for all governments nationwide, as well as estimates by state area. Reports consist of viewable tables and data files that users can download from the Internet.

The Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finance survey covers the subject area of public education finances. Reports contain national and state aggregated data for major components of school system revenues, expenditures, debt, and assets. They also provide similar detail, per pupil, for school systems with enrollments larger than 15,000. Data files that contain full survey or enumeration data detail for each covered school system (data for individual systems are public data and not subject to confidentiality limitations) also are available for download at the same site.