Nearly three million people travel by air every day in the United States and as we enter the busy holiday travel season, we explore who manages the nation’s public airports and how they’re funded.
According to the Census of Governments (CoG), there are 435 independent special districts operating as airport authorities, airport commissions, or port authorities across the United States.
In addition, local governments such as counties and municipalities, and state governments, may also operate airport authorities. They are all responsible for the behind-the-scenes operations at public airports.
As of the 2022 CoG, there were 435 independent airport authorities and commissions nationwide. The Midwest had the most (189) of any region, followed by the South (159).
The CoG gathers data on all government organizations, public employment and payroll, and government finances at state and local levels every five years. It does not include data on private enterprises such as privately-run airports.
The recently published 2022 Individual State Descriptions summarize the legal authority and structure of local U.S. governments, including airport authorities and how they handle airport safety, maintenance and operations.
Independent airport authorities are considered special district governments that are separate entities from general-purpose local governments like cities and counties. Airport authorities vary in size of operations from those that manage very small, often rural, airports to international connectors such as the San Bernardino International Airport Authority in California.
Airport authorities are typically governed by a board of directors or commissioners legally authorized to carry out an airport’s business without direction or control from county commissioners, for example, or other local government officials.
For funding, airport authorities can issue bonds, charge rental fees and determine the amount of tax to be levied by the sponsoring government in support of airport operations.
Airport Authorities Revenue and Expenditures
As of the 2022 CoG, there were 435 independent airport authorities and commissions nationwide. The Midwest had the most (189) of any region, followed by the South (159).
The data visualization below allows you to explore each state’s air transportation revenue and expenditure data.
Note: Select the image to go to the interactive data visualization.
The 2022 CoG data tables show the states with the most airport authorities.
Typically, it would be safe to assume a higher total count of airport authorities would generate higher airport revenue or expenditure within a state. But that’s not the case here.
For example, California only had 15 airport authorities yet generated the nation’s most air transportation revenue ($4.299 billion).
New York and Texas had no independent airport authorities but ranked second and third in revenue ($2.647 and $2.184 billion, respectively). For these states, air transportation finances are managed at either the local or state level.
Illinois was the only state in the top five by both the number of airport authorities (30) and air transportation revenue ($1.303 billion).
The five states that generate the most in air transportation revenue also spend the most, but the rankings differ. Florida is ranked fourth in revenue and third in expenditures.
Air Transportation Finance Data Compared to Airport Authority Count
Public airport authorities can be funded via taxes or bonds. This means that total revenue or expenditures for airport authorities may be higher than what is generated by the airport operations alone.
Some airports are operated under the direction of local or state governments. These are not included in the interactive map because they are not independently operated. Instead, the local or state government is responsible for reporting the air transportation financial data in the Census of Governments.
The Census of Governments – Finance component tracks all public revenues and expenditures.
That’s why some states do not have any independent airport authorities listed but still produce total revenue and expenditures for the air transportation category.
For example, the Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport Board is responsible for operating the DFW International Airport. The board is governed by 12 members, proportionally representing the cities that own the airport.
The finance data are reported under the airport transportation financial code for the CoG. But there isn’t a separate airport authority listed in Texas because the member cities own the airport jointly in this example.
Learn more about the inner workings of your state’s publicly operated airports and port authorities as well as the organizational structure of hundreds of other U.S. government organizations in the Individual State Descriptions: 2022 and the just-released financial data for these governments from the 2022 Census of Governments.