Here are the states that spend the most (and least) on public safety

Every state has an obligation to help its towns, cities and counties fund local police department, fire department and department of corrections budgets. But the more states spend on public safety — which also includes protective inspection and regulation services — the less they have to spend on everything else.

GOBankingRates used data from the U.S. Census Bureau on state and local government finances, added up public safety expenditures and divided that by overall direct expenditures at the state level to find the total percentage each state spends on public safety.

Click through to find out what percentage of your state's total expenditures goes to keeping citizens safe, secure and protected, and if that spending is putting your state into debt.

State Spending on Public Safety

A trio of western states is in the top five for public safety spending. Even though these states aren't spending as much as larger states in terms of raw dollars, they are on a percentage basis of overall state spending. Only Florida is in the top five both on a percentage and total dollar spending basis. On the other hand, North Dakota spends the least on public safety whether you're measuring the percent of total state dollars spent or the actual amount.

Next Up: States That Spend the Most and Least on Education

Methodology: GOBankingRates sourced U.S. Census Bureau data on state and local government finances, added up yearly expenditures for police protection, fire protection, correction and protective inspection and regulation, and divided it by overall direct expenditure for each state to find the percentage spent on public safety.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Here Are the States That Spend the Most (and Least) on Public Safety