Nuclear Weapons Community
Cost Calculator

Tax Season is here. Do you know how much you spend on Nuclear Weapons?

Every April, Board Member Dr. Bob Dodge calculates the full cost of all nuclear weapons programs to our communities.

For FY 2026 (Tax Year 2025), the total U.S. nuclear weapons program expenditure was $137,230,000,000.

Nuclear weapons threaten us every moment of every day. The threat is higher now than at any point since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 80 years ago. While most reasonable individuals recognize that these weapons cannot and must not ever be used, approximately 12,400 weapons remain in the nuclear arsenals of the world. We also know that the use of even a tiny fraction (<0.5%) of these weapons over a single populated region would cause catastrophic climate change, resulting in a global famine that would potentially put 2 billion people at risk. These weapons also threaten us by robbing our communities of precious resources that could be redirected to the many needs that our communities fight for.

This fiscal year finds our nation facing challenges with an administration that is disrupting many established institutions designed to promote the health, safety, and well-being of our people. With so many people struggling just to make ends meet, the effects of these cuts are felt especially in economically disadvantaged communities and communities of color. As our country struggles with these realities, we hope this project will assist communities across our nation in addressing these inequities together.

Table Legend:

NAE- National Average Expense
POP- Population
PCI- Per Captial Income (local)
FI- Federal Income (per capita)
PCIM- Per Capita Income Modifer (local)
PCNT- Per Capita ‘Nuclear Tax’
NE- Nuclear Expense (local)

  • Individual Tax Costs

    In 2025, the average cost of nuclear weapons development to every individual in the United States was $401.51. This is based on a national per capita average annual income of $44,671.

    If your income is different from this, you can calculate your income modifier by dividing your income by the national average.

    For example, your income / $44,671 = your modifier. Multiply this modifier by $401.51 to get your tax contribution to nuclear weapons programs this year. 

    Community Tax Costs

    You can calculate the cost of nuclear arms to your community using the following formula:

    $401.51 x PCIM x your population = community cost

    To determine PCIM (per capita income multiplier) for your community, refer to this U.S. Census table.

    To find the per capita income for your community, divide by national per capita income ($44,671)– i.e. average per capita income in your community divided by national per capita average ($44,671) = PCIM for your community.

    Population figures for your community can also be found in this U.S. Census table.

We invite your comments and questions about our program. Email Denise Duffield at dduffield@psr-la.org.

2026 Fiscal Year Expenditures

This year’s total US figure is $137,230,000,000, with a per capita nuclear tax of $401.51, based on the average U.S. income.

This is roughly a 24% increase from the previous fiscal year. The significant increase in spending came from an uptick in Department of Defense nuclear spending and funding for President Trump’s “Golden Dome” project.

You can also learn how to calculate costs for your community, see resources and references, and learn more about the project below.

Note from Dr. Dodge: With this year’s calculation, it is noteworthy that the United States is spending $261,092 every minute on all nuclear weapons programs. These numbers represent the best possible estimate of nuclear weapons-related costs based on publicly available data. Following last summer’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and ongoing federal dysfunction, the budgetary process has been plagued with continuing resolution, “mandatory funding,” and “reconciliation funding” that come after the budget had been signed. In addition, the usual teasing out of the figures between the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and U.S. Space Force adds to the challenge of determining accurate numbers.

For FY 2026 (Tax Year 2025), Nuclear Weapons Programs expenditure for Los Angeles County was $3,990,117,794, and Los Angeles City was $1,662,382,161.

Below, you’ll find a table with FY 2026 tax costs for major cities throughout the United States.

About the Nuclear Weapons Cost Program

The Nuclear Weapons Cost Program, now in its 37th year, attempts to determine the full cost of all nuclear weapons programs to our communities. There have been many excellent calculations of portions of our nuclear weapons costs, including the ICAN report on global costs. These reports deal primarily with the cost of warheads and delivery systems development alone in an attempt to compare one nation to another.

In our report, we include verifiable costs of all nuclear programs that would not be spent if nuclear weapons did not exist. These include funding the nuclear missile defense system, environmental cleanup, and legacy programs dealing with communities that have been contaminated by the mining, development, testing, and stockpiling of these weapons. Also included is nuclear nonproliferation funding and funding to safeguard and sequester nuclear weapons in Russia and the former Soviet Union States.

Determining the full cost of U.S. nuclear weapons programs is a tedious process, as the United States is not fully transparent in these figures. We have chosen to list only figures for which we can provide a reference. In 2013, with the release of the “Black Budget” by Edward Snowden, it was estimated that there were some $9 billion in “top secret” nuclear operations that were never publicly released. That year the U.S. “Black Budget” was $52.6 Billion. This year’s U.S. Intelligence Committee “Black Budget” is in excess of $81.9 billion. While likely still funded, it has become impossible to track nuclear expenditures; thus, there is no inclusion herein. 

These are tax dollars much better spent on human needs — health, education, housing. Now more than ever, we must change our national priorities and invest in critical needs for our survival, not weapons of annihilation. The very existence of nuclear weapons is an economic, environmental, social, and racial justice issue.