U.S. Cannabis Tax Revenue Climbs 15.7% to $3.55 Billion

Cannabis excise tax collections across the United States reached an estimated $3.55 billion during the 12 months ended June 2026, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Thirty states and Washington, D.C., now collect excise taxes from legal cannabis sales. That is up from 19 states and D.C. when the Census Bureau began tracking the category in 2021.

The expanding number of markets helped push nationwide cannabis tax revenue 15.7% higher than fiscal 2022, when states collected approximately $3.06 billion. The latest figures were released September 10 through the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Summary of State and Local Government Tax Revenue.

“And the numbers keep growing,” the agency said.

The data illustrate how market expansion can lift government revenue even as mature cannabis markets contend with falling prices and pressure from illicit sales. Alabama became the latest state included in the federal count after launching medical cannabis sales in May 2026.

Tax Policy Can Reshape Revenue

The national growth has not followed a straight line.

Cannabis tax revenue declined substantially in fiscal 2023, largely because California eliminated its cultivation tax in July 2022. California’s annual collections fell from $878.56 million in fiscal 2022 to $528.23 million the following year.

The state retained its 15% retail excise tax but removed the cultivation levy in an attempt to reduce costs, lower retail prices and help licensed operators compete against the illicit market.

The change highlights a central challenge for cannabis regulators: governments want to collect revenue without pushing legal-market prices high enough to drive consumers toward unlicensed sellers.

States have adopted significantly different approaches. Taxes may be imposed at the wholesale, cultivation or retail level and can also vary according to product weight, THC content or format.

Washington and Montana generated the highest annual cannabis tax collections per resident, exceeding $50 per capita. Their retail excise tax rates stand at 37% and 20%, respectively.

Alaska collected more than $30 per resident without imposing a retail excise tax. Instead, the state applies a $50-per-ounce cultivation tax when cannabis is transferred to licensed businesses.

New Markets Add Revenue

Newer recreational markets are beginning to contribute more meaningfully to the national total.

Minnesota collected $34.44 million during fiscal 2026, more than double the $16.57 million reported one year earlier. The state issued 324 cannabis business licenses in 2025 and increased its excise tax from 10% to 15%.

Delaware began collecting a 15% cannabis excise tax when adult-use sales launched in August 2025. The Census Bureau said collections have continued rising as additional licensed businesses enter the market.

Adult-use states generally produce more cannabis tax revenue per resident than medical-only markets, which remain more common across the South.

The numbers do not measure operator profitability, sales growth or the financial health of individual cannabis companies. Tax collections can rise because of new store openings, higher rates or the launch of new state markets—even when prices and margins are declining elsewhere.

Still, the federal data show that legal cannabis has become a recurring source of state revenue. The question for policymakers is increasingly not whether cannabis produces tax dollars, but how much governments can collect without weakening the regulated businesses generating them.

Among the largest U.S. cannabis multistate operators, Trulieve Cannabis (CSE: TRUL; OTCQX: TCNNF) reported $208.1 million in income tax expense for 2025, followed by Green Thumb Industries (CSE: GTII; OTCQX: GTBIF) at $147.3 million and Curaleaf Holdings (TSX: CURA; OTCQX: CURLF) at $123.7 million. These figures represent companywide income tax expense—not the cannabis excise taxes included in the Census Bureau’s state revenue total.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau