American Paperwork Burden Statistics 2026

Aug 11 2026

Business

13 min

Report Highlights

In 2026, the average US state scored 36.7 out of 100 on the Paperwork Burden Index, with a 37.6-point gap between the heaviest and lightest states (Paperwork Burden Index).
In 2026, New York posted the heaviest paperwork burden of any state at 53.6, the only state to max out both the tax and vehicle-administration categories (Paperwork Burden Index; Tax Foundation; Vermont Legislative Research Service).
In March 2026, Texas recorded the lowest Medicaid ex parte renewal rate in the country at just 9%, versus a 51.9% national average (CMS).
In March 2026, Indiana recorded the highest Medicaid procedural disenrollment rate in the country at 43% of cases closed over paperwork rather than eligibility (CMS).
In 2022, Hawaii required an average of 972 days to obtain an occupational license, more than triple the 288.5-day national median (Institute for Justice).
In 2024, New Mexico received the lowest digital government grade of any state, a C, while nine states tied for the highest grade, an A (Center for Digital Government).
In 2026, 26 states use a graduated income tax structure and 16 states layer a local income tax on top of it, while 9 states require no general wage income tax return (Tax Foundation).
As of April 2026, Vermont is the only state where zero recording jurisdictions accept electronic property filings, against an 84.3% national average eRecording coverage rate (Property Records Industry Association).

Overall Burden Scale

The Paperwork Burden Index combines six independent pillars into a single 0–100 score per state, where a higher score means more administrative work for residents. The figures below set the national baseline and identify the extremes.

National scale

In 2026, the Paperwork Burden Index averaged 36.7 across all 50 states, with a median of 37.7 (Paperwork Burden Index).
In 2026, New York scored 53.6, the highest in the country, while Washington scored 16.0, the lowest, a 37.6-point spread (Paperwork Burden Index).
In 2026, five states scored above 48: New York, New Mexico, Delaware, Hawaii and California, together forming the heaviest-burden tier (Paperwork Burden Index).
In 2026, five states scored 24.1 or below: Washington, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Mississippi, together forming the lightest-burden tier (Paperwork Burden Index).

Pillar weighting

Healthcare and government services carry the largest single weight in the index at 28%, followed by occupational licensing at 22% (Paperwork Burden Index methodology).
Digital government contributes 18% of the composite score, tax paperwork 15%, vehicle and DMV administration 12%, and home buying 5% (Paperwork Burden Index methodology).
A sensitivity test using equal pillar weights still correlated at Spearman rho 0.91 with the published ranking, and the same five states remained heaviest and lightest either way (Paperwork Burden Index methodology).

Healthcare and Medicaid Administration

Medicaid renewal processing varies sharply by state, and the gap between the fastest- and slowest-processing states is wider than any other pillar in the index. The figures below cover automatic renewals, processing delays and call center performance.

Renewal processing

In March 2026, US states processed 6,144,538 Medicaid renewals, with an average ex parte (automatic) renewal rate of 51.9% (CMS).
In March 2026, Connecticut posted the highest ex parte renewal rate in the country at 84%, followed by Washington at 83% (CMS).
In March 2026, Texas posted the lowest ex parte renewal rate in the country at 9%, despite carrying one of the lightest overall paperwork burdens (CMS).
In March 2026, the average state closed 14.3% of Medicaid cases for procedural reasons rather than a finding of ineligibility, with Indiana highest at 43% (CMS).

Processing delays and call centers

In March 2026, US states averaged 11.6% of Medicaid applications taking longer than 45 days to process (CMS).
In March 2026, Alaska took longer than 45 days to process 57% of Medicaid applications, the highest rate in the country (CMS).
In March 2026, New York processed just 0.1% of applications over 45 days, effectively the fastest turnaround of any state measured (CMS).
In March 2026, the average Medicaid call center wait was 13.9 minutes, with Oklahoma the slowest at 73 minutes and Hawaii second-slowest at 61 minutes (CMS).
In March 2026, the average Medicaid call abandonment rate was 13.5%, with North Dakota the highest at 41%, followed by Montana at 40% and Hawaii at 39% (CMS).
South Dakota is the only state that reports no Medicaid call center metrics, because it operates no state call center (CMS).

Occupational Licensing

Licensing burden varies more by state than almost any other pillar, driven by how many lower-income occupations require a license and how long that license takes to obtain. The figures below cover national averages and the states carrying the heaviest load.

National licensing burden

In 2022, the average state required 352 calendar days and $282 in fees to obtain an occupational license, against a national median of 288.5 days (Institute for Justice).
In 2022, the average state licensed 54 of 102 lower-income occupations surveyed nationally (Institute for Justice).
In 2022, licensing burden ranged from 113 days in the lightest state to 972 days in the heaviest, an 8.6x spread (Institute for Justice).

Heaviest licensing states

In 2022, Hawaii required an average of 972 days and $506 in fees to obtain a license, the heaviest licensing burden of any state (Institute for Justice).
In 2022, Nevada posted the highest average licensing fees in the country at $727, on top of an 883-day average processing burden (Institute for Justice).
In 2022, California licensed 75 of 102 occupations surveyed, tied with Nevada for the broadest licensing footprint in the country (Institute for Justice).
In 2022, New Mexico and Delaware both required an average of 495 days to obtain a license, ranking 10th- and 11th-heaviest nationally (Institute for Justice).

Digital Government

State governments are graded biennially on the quality of their digital services, from an A down to a C in the most recent survey. The figures below cover the national grade distribution and where it does, and doesn't, line up with paperwork burden.

Grade distribution

In 2024, 9 states received the top grade, an A, for digital government: California, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Utah and Virginia (Center for Digital Government).
In 2024, 14 states received an A-, the second-highest grade, the single largest grade group in the country (Center for Digital Government).
In 2024, New Mexico received the only C grade in the country, the lowest score of any state (Center for Digital Government).
In 2024, Alaska received a C+, the second-lowest grade nationally (Center for Digital Government).

Digital grade vs. paperwork burden

In 2026, California held an A grade for digital government yet ranked 5th-heaviest overall on the Paperwork Burden Index (Center for Digital Government; Paperwork Burden Index).
In 2026, Hawaii held an A- grade for digital government yet ranked 4th-heaviest overall, a state we classify as showing a "digital veneer" (Center for Digital Government; Paperwork Burden Index).
In 2026, only 30 of 50 states showed a clear, consistent relationship between digital grade and paperwork burden; the remaining 20 showed no strong pattern either way (Paperwork Burden Index).

Tax Paperwork

State income tax structure is one of the more binary pillars in the index: a state either has a graduated tax, a flat tax, or none at all, and local income taxes layer on top in some states. The figures below break down the national split.

Tax structure nationally

In 2026, 26 states used a graduated income tax structure, the most burdensome tax structure classification in the index (Tax Foundation).
In 2026, 15 states used a flat income tax rate (Tax Foundation).
In 2026, 9 states required no general wage income tax return, including Washington, which taxes only capital gains (Tax Foundation).
In 2023, 16 states layered a local income tax on top of the state return, including New York, which levies additional local income tax in New York City and Yonkers (Tax Foundation).
In 2026, Ohio residents may face local income tax filings across 649 municipalities and 199 school districts, and Pennsylvania residents across 2,506 municipalities and 472 school districts (Tax Foundation).

Vehicle and DMV Administration

Vehicle administration burden spans four separate requirements: safety inspection, emissions testing, notarized title transfers, and out-of-state VIN inspections. The figures below cover how many states require each.

National DMV requirements

As of November 2025, 9 states required an annual vehicle safety inspection, the most burdensome inspection frequency in the index (Vermont Legislative Research Service).
As of November 2025, 7 states required statewide emissions testing, rather than testing limited to specific counties or metro areas (Vermont Legislative Research Service).
As of November 2025, 9 states required a notarized title assignment on a standard private-sale vehicle transfer: Arizona, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Wyoming (state DMV guidance).
As of November 2025, 14 states required a VIN inspection when titling an out-of-state vehicle (state DMV guidance).
As of November 2025, New York, Massachusetts and Vermont were the only three states combining a mandatory annual safety inspection with statewide emissions testing, the heaviest vehicle-administration combination in the index (Vermont Legislative Research Service).
In 2020, Washington ended its vehicle emissions testing program entirely, contributing to its position as the lightest-burden state in the index (Vermont Legislative Research Service).

Home Buying and Property Paperwork

Home-buying paperwork is shaped by three factors: whether a state mandates a seller disclosure form, whether it levies a real estate transfer tax, and how much of its property recording has moved to electronic filing. The figures below cover the national baseline and the outlier.

National home-buying baseline

As of April 2026, US recording jurisdictions averaged 84.3% electronic filing (eRecording) coverage for property deeds (Property Records Industry Association).
As of April 2026, 7 states mandate no seller disclosure form at all under a caveat emptor standard: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming (state statutes).
As of April 2026, 16 states levy no state-level real estate transfer tax (PropertyShark; First American).

The eRecording outlier

As of April 2026, Vermont is the only state with 0% eRecording coverage, meaning every property deed in the state is still filed on paper with a town clerk across all 247 recording jurisdictions (Property Records Industry Association).
As of April 2026, 16 states report 100% eRecording coverage, including Delaware, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado and Georgia (Property Records Industry Association).
As of April 2026, West Virginia reported the second-lowest eRecording coverage in the country at 41.8%, alongside being one of only two states requiring seller disclosure to go unmandated while still levying a transfer tax (Property Records Industry Association).

State Rankings at a Glance

The five heaviest and five lightest states on the Paperwork Burden Index, ranked by overall score.

Heaviest states

New York ranks heaviest overall at 53.6, driven by maxed-out tax and vehicle-administration scores (Paperwork Burden Index).
New Mexico ranks second-heaviest at 52.9, driven by its licensing burden and the lowest digital government grade in the country (Paperwork Burden Index).
Delaware ranks third-heaviest at 51.7, driven by licensing burden and a 33% Medicaid call abandonment rate (Paperwork Burden Index).
Hawaii ranks fourth-heaviest at 49.8, driven by the nation's heaviest occupational licensing regime (Paperwork Burden Index).
California ranks fifth-heaviest at 48.3, despite holding an A grade for digital government (Paperwork Burden Index).

Lightest states

Washington ranks lightest overall at 16.0, helped by no general wage income tax and no vehicle emissions testing since 2020 (Paperwork Burden Index).
Tennessee ranks second-lightest at 17.7 (Paperwork Burden Index).
New Hampshire ranks third-lightest at 20.0 (Paperwork Burden Index).
Minnesota ranks fourth-lightest at 23.4 (Paperwork Burden Index).
Mississippi ranks fifth-lightest at 24.1 (Paperwork Burden Index).

Sources

Paperwork Burden Index: composite methodology combining sources 2–7 below
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Medicaid & CHIP Eligibility Operations and Enrollment Snapshot, March 2026 (published 26 June 2026)
Institute for Justice: License to Work: A National Study of Burdens from Occupational Licensing, 3rd edition (2022 data)
Center for Digital Government: Digital States Survey 2024 (published 25 September 2024)
Tax Foundation: 2026 State Individual Income Tax Structures; Local Income Taxes: A Primer (2023)
Vermont Legislative Research Service, University of Vermont: State Motor Vehicle Safety Inspections and Emissions Testing (19 November 2025), cross-checked against individual state DMV guidance
Property Records Industry Association: List of Jurisdictions eRecording (as of 30 April 2026); US Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer Files
PropertyShark / First American: Real Estate Transfer Taxes by State

Reena Cruz

PDF Productivity Expert

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