The Constitution of the Russian Federation states (Article 7) that the country is a social state, the main goal of which is to create conditions for ensuring a decent life and free development of people. The formation of a social state is a long process and Russia is only at the beginning, gradually forming its fundamental elements, the most important of which are the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, a highly developed socially oriented economy, social partnership and social responsibility, social justice, social democracy. The social functions of the state ensure the quality of life and represent, in fact, all spheres of society’s life, therefore assessing the level of effectiveness of the social state is very important, but difficult due to its polycriteria and multi-level nature. In the context of multidimensional life support of the population, it is necessary to assess social and economic inequality in many parameters (financial situation, labor activity, housing conditions, life safety, public health, education, culture, transport infrastructure, information and communication resources, living potential of the population) as separate territories countries and social groups. Empirical research has revealed deep differentiation in the socio-economic development of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and their inequality in the performance of social functions of the state, including the livelihoods of the rural population. To develop government management decisions in order to ensure social justice, a methodological toolkit for multidimensional assessment of the effectiveness of the social state is proposed, based on a systematic approach taking into account the contribution of administrative-territorial entities, which allows us to identify problem areas that require priority attention, identify strategic goals and measures to achieve them.