State cannabis excise taxes reached an estimated $3.55 billion from July 2025 through June 2026, the highest fiscal-year total in the U.S. Census Bureau series. The figure was 15.7% above fiscal 2022, when the bureau recorded $3.06 billion. Growth came as more states began collecting a dedicated cannabis tax and newer adult-use markets expanded.
More states are taxing cannabis and the national collection total has recovered from a California-driven dip. It does not tell us whether individual businesses are profitable or whether consumers are leaving the unlicensed market.
The New National Numbers
The Census Bureau released its fiscal 2026 analysis on September 10. Thirty states and the District of Columbia collected a cannabis excise tax during the period. When the bureau began tracking these taxes in 2021, 19 states and D.C. were participating. Eleven additional states have since entered the series.
Alabama was the newest entrant after medical cannabis sales began in May 2026. Other markets added since 2021 include states with newer adult-use sales, such as Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota and Ohio, as well as medical-only programs.
The expansion also sharpens two related questions covered across CannaWize: how unequal banking access raises operator costs and how coming federal hemp rules could reshape a parallel cannabinoid market that these state marijuana-tax figures do not measure.
California Explains the Dip in the Middle
The national total did not rise in a straight line. Census attributed much of the fiscal 2023 drop to California's decision to eliminate its cultivation tax on July 1, 2022. California cannabis tax collections fell from $878.56 million in fiscal 2022 to $528.23 million in fiscal 2023.
That is a policy change, not necessarily a matching collapse in retail demand. California kept a retail excise tax while removing a tax earlier in the supply chain. The example shows why a state tax total can move because the tax structure changed even if consumer sales follow a different path.
Washington and Montana Led Per-Capita Collections
Washington and Montana each collected more than $50 per resident annually, the highest per-capita figures in the Census analysis. Washington applies a 37% retail excise rate and Montana 20%. Alaska collected more than $30 per resident through a different system: a $50-per-ounce cultivation tax rather than a retail excise tax.
Those figures should not be read as a state-market ranking. Per-capita collections depend on tax rates, product prices, tourist purchases, market maturity and the share of demand served by licensed stores. A higher number can reflect a strong legal market, a high rate or both.
Market design can also determine who survives long enough to contribute to that tax base. Licensing delays and litigation, covered in our state cannabis licensing analysis, can concentrate sales among existing operators even as the top-line collection number grows.
Minnesota Shows How Launch Timing Changes the Data
Minnesota collected $34.44 million in fiscal 2026, up from $16.57 million in fiscal 2025. Census noted that the state issued 324 new cannabis business licenses in 2025 and increased its excise tax rate from 10% to 15%. The revenue jump therefore combines market expansion with a rate change.
Delaware began collecting a 15% excise tax when adult-use sales started on August 1, 2025. Newly launched states can post large percentage gains from a small base, while mature states may show slower growth even when their absolute collections remain much larger.
What the $3.55 Billion Does Not Measure
This is a tax-revenue estimate, not a retail-sales total. It does not equal cannabis company revenue or profit, and it does not include every ordinary sales, business or local tax connected with the industry. It also excludes unlicensed transactions that never reach a tax agency.
The underlying experimental data product uses reported state collections and does not impute a value when a known collecting state has missing data. Census cautions against using incomplete quarters from the downloadable product to construct a U.S. total. The bureau's published $3.55 billion figure is the relevant national estimate for this fiscal-year comparison.
Why the Record Still Matters
Dedicated cannabis taxes have become a recurring state revenue stream across much of the country. The newest total also supplies a consistent federal statistical baseline for comparing tax policy as more markets open.
But the strongest reading pairs tax collections with retail sales, prices, transaction counts, active licenses and business exits. As our cannabis market-health guide explains, a growing public revenue line can coexist with margin pressure and closures for operators. The record is real; what it says about market health depends on the rest of the dashboard.
Clear answers
Frequently Asked Questions
How much cannabis excise tax did states collect in fiscal 2026?
Census estimated that 30 states and the District of Columbia collected $3.55 billion between July 2025 and June 2026.
Which states collected the most per resident?
Washington and Montana each collected more than $50 per resident annually, although their tax rates and market structures differ.
Does $3.55 billion equal legal cannabis sales?
No. It is estimated cannabis excise tax revenue, not retail sales, business profit or the full value of the legal and unlicensed markets.