How Much Do Public School Systems in Each State Spend Per Student?
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A new U.S. Census Bureau survey details expenditures on public education.
Total public school expenditures per-student in New York were the highest of any U.S. state during fiscal 2013, checking in at $19,818, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released on Tuesday.
In contrast, school systems in Utah spent the equivalent of $6,555 per pupil, the least of any state. The fact that per-student spending varies widely across the country was one of the bigger takeaways illustrated in “Public Education Finances: 2013.”
The annual survey of U.S. public schools includes a broad range of information collected from 15,144, pre-kindergarten through 12th grade systems across the nation, including figures related to revenues, spending, debt and other financial issues.
Among the 100 individual school systems with the largest number of students enrolled during fall 2013, Boston’s public schools spent the most per pupil—$20,502. The Alpine School District, which serves an area south of Salt Lake City, spent the least, $5,539.
Overall, U.S. public school systems spent $596.3 billion in fiscal 2013, a 0.5 percent increase over 2012. The tick upwards also marked the end of a three-year downward slide in total U.S. elementary and secondary education spending, according to the Census Bureau.
New York had the highest per pupil spending of any state in five of the six years between 2008 and 2013, but was edged out by the District of Columbia in 2010. Among the other top-spending states during those six-years were Alaska, New Jersey and Vermont. All of these states and the district consistently saw yearly spending levels during that time exceed $14,000 per pupil.
Joining Utah at the low end of the per-pupil spending spectrum during the 2008-2013 timeframe were Arizona, Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee, where expenditures on each student totaled less than $9,000 annually.
The Census figures also show that in 2013 the biggest share of school system revenue, 45.6 percent, or $272.9 billion, came from state governments, while 45.3 percent, or $270.6 billion came from local sources such as property taxes and student fees. The federal government, meanwhile, contributed about 9.1 percent, or $54.4 billion.
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