2025 Nuclear Weapons Programs Tax Calculator

Every April, Dr. Bob Dodge, Co-President of the Board of Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles (PSR-LA), calculates the full cost of all nuclear weapons programs to our communities. PSR-LA is Coalition Partner of Back from the Brink.

For FY 2025 (Tax Year 2024), the total U.S. Nuclear Weapons Programs expenditure was $110,344,000,000! That’s more than 110 BILLION DOLLARS.

These are tax dollars much better spent on human needs. Now more than ever, we must change our national priorities and invest in critical needs for our survival, not deadly weapons that must never be used. You can also learn how to calculate costs for your community, see resources and references, and learn more about the project below.

Below, you’ll find a table with FY 2025 tax costs for major cities throughout the United States.

TABLE LEGEND

NAE – National Average Expense
POP – Population
PCI – Per Capita Income (local)
FI – Federal Income (per capita)
PCIM – Per Capita Income Modifier (local)
PCNT – Per Capita “Nuclear Tax”
NE – Nuclear Expense (local)

CALCULATE YOUR INDIVIDUAL OR COMMUNITY NUCLEAR WEAPONS COST

Individual Tax Costs

In 2024, the average cost of nuclear weapons development to every individual in the United States was $324.43. This is based on a national per capita average annual income of $43,289. 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 / $43,289 = your modifier. Multiply this modifier by $324.43 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:

$324.43 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 ($43,289) – i.e. average per capita income in your community divided by national per capita average ($43,289) = PCIM for your community. Population figures for your community can also be found in this U.S. Census table.

RESOURCES TO CALCULATE THE COSTS OF FY 2025 NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAMS

• FY ‘25 DOE/NNSA ($32.744 Billion) Nuclear weapons activities and defense environmental cleanup – https://armscontrolcenter.org/final-summary-fiscal-year-2025-national-defense-authorization-act-h-r-5009/
  • Included (highlights):
    • $19.98 Billion weapons activities – https://www.congress.gov/crs- product/R47657
    • $2.55 Billion Nuclear non-proliferation – https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R44413
    • $7.55 Billion environmental cleanup/legacy – https://www.energyca.org/eca-updates/2024/8/5/senate-energy-and-water-appropriations-breakdown
      https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48097
    • $564 million – salaries/expenses
•  FY ’25 Department of Defense nuclear weapons spending ($49.2 Billion)
  https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/FY2025/FY2025_Budget_Request.pdf – pg. 7
  • FY ’25 NC3 (Nuclear Communications, Command & Control) – included in $49.2 Billion DOD funds
  • FY ’25 DTRA (Defense Threat Reduction Agency) ($858 Million) included in $49.2 Billion DOD funds https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/FY2025/budget_justification/pdfs/01_Operation_and_Maintenance/O_M_VOL_1_PART_1/DTRA_OP-5.pdf
  • FY ’25 CTR (Cooperative Threat Reduction) ($350 Million) included in $32.744 Billion DOE funds (see first bullet point)
• FY ’25 Missile Defeat & Defense ($28.4 Billion) https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/FY2025/FY2025_Budget_Request.pdf
• Arms Control Center – https://armscontrolcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FY-2025-Defense-Budget-Request-Briefing-Book-Fact-Sheet-2.pdf – 2025
• Arms Control Center – https://armscontrolcenter.org/fiscal-year-2025-defense-budget-request-briefing-book/
• U.S. Census – https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045224

Not included:

• FY ’25: Nuclear Black Budget
• FY ’25: RECA

ABOUT PSR-LA’S NUCLEAR WEAPONS COST PROGRAM

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 12,331 weapons remain in the nuclear arsenals of the world. We also know that the use of even a tiny fraction (<1/2%) of these weapons over a single populated region would cause catastrophic climate change resulting in a global famine putting potentially 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 cry out for.

This Nuclear Weapons Cost Program, now in its 36th 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 that we can provide reference to. 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 $73.4 billion. While likely still being funded it has become impossible to track nuclear expenditures, and thus, there is no inclusion herein.

This fiscal year finds our nation facing challenges with an administration that is disrupting many established institutions designed to promote the health, safety and wellbeing of our people when so many still struggle just to make ends meet. The effects of these cuts are felt especially in economically disadvantaged communities and communities of color. The very existence of nuclear weapons is an economic, environmental, social, and racial justice issue. As our country struggles with these realities, it is our hope that this project will provide assistance to communities across our nation attempting to address these inequities together. We invite your comments and questions about our program.