This research assesses how state and local factors combine to influence the adoption of performance measurement for local service contracting nested in state contexts over time. Using a multilevel linear growth model to analyze local survey and official data, the findings demonstrate that local adoption of performance measurements nested in state contexts changed significantly; local contract management capability are significantly linked to the adoption of performance measurement. State contexts have a large impact on that adoption as well. The findings, which may have been unobserved by previous studies, suggest that local practices are indeed embedded in state governance across time.