Average Public School Spending / Student

  • The national average public school spending / student is approximately $11,598 (2020).
  • The state with the highest average student spending is District of Columbia, with $19,903 spent per student.
  • The state with the lowest average student spending is Utah, with $6,922 per student.
  • The public school districts with the highest average spending / student in each state are listed below (where sufficient data available).

Average Public School Spending / Student (2020)

State
Average Spending / Student
School Districts with Highest Spending / Student
Alaska
$17,826
Yukon Flats School District ($58,506)Annette Island School District ($52,625)Lake And Peninsula Borough School District ($51,208)Lower Yukon School District ($43,567)Aleutians East Borough School District ($41,176)
Alabama
$10,427
Sumter County School District ($21,116)Lowndes County School District ($17,919)Macon County School District ($17,162)Marengo County School District ($16,630)Choctaw County School District ($16,120)
Arkansas
$10,935
Newport School District ($33,944)Atkins School District ($32,260)Dollarway School District ($31,879)Marvell School District ($30,974)Helena/ W.Helena School District ($24,194)
Arizona
$8,828
Sedona-Oak Creek Jusd #9 School District ($43,625)Window Rock Unified School District ($26,060)Red Mesa Unified School District ($24,990)Salt River Pima-Maricopa Community Schools School District ($23,588)Heber-Overgaard Unified School District ($22,288)
California
$11,368
San Francisco County Office Of Education School District ($537,522)San Mateo County Office Of Education School District ($464,666)Santa Barbara County Office Of Education School District ($272,114)Sonoma County Office Of Education School District ($235,834)Marin County Office Of Education School District ($189,039)
Colorado
$9,795
Sargent School District No. Re-33j School District ($70,470)Centennial School District No. R-1 School District ($60,600)Meeker School District Re1 School District ($35,395)Park County School District No. Re-2 School District ($30,052)Gunnison Watershed School District Re1j School District ($26,687)
Connecticut
$18,536
Winchester School District ($43,972)Waterford School District ($38,918)Regional School District 12 School District ($32,403)Norwich School District ($31,491)Hartford School District ($30,620)
District of Columbia
$19,903
Perry Street Preparatory PCS School District ($75,379)St. Coletta Special Education PCS School District ($60,433)SEED PCS Of Washington Dc School District ($36,099)Cedar Tree Academy PCS School District ($33,360)Washington Mathematics Science Technology PCHS School District ($31,785)
Delaware
$13,517
Christina School District ($19,623)Milford School District ($19,015)Sussex Technical School District ($18,457)New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District ($17,808)Cape Henlopen School District ($16,612)
Florida
$9,624
Washington School District ($13,212)Franklin School District ($12,821)Liberty School District ($12,310)Sarasota School District ($11,920)Hamilton School District ($11,758)
Georgia
$10,101
Lincoln County School District ($24,662)Commission Charter Schools- Coweta Charter Academy School District ($21,387)Quitman County School District ($21,156)Clay County School District ($21,021)Baker County School District ($20,203)
Hawaii
$12,251
Hawaii Department Of Education School District ($12,251)
Iowa
$11,044
West Central Valley Community School District ($26,138)Belle Plaine Community School District ($22,987)Mount Ayr Community School District ($20,404)Panorama Community School District ($19,172)Hubbard-Radcliffe Community School District ($18,936)
Idaho
$7,201
Whitepine Joint School District ($31,922)Bruneau-Grand View Joint School District ($16,203)Plummer-Worley Joint School District ($15,405)Lapwai School District ($15,239)Blaine County School District ($15,110)
Illinois
$14,109
Northern Suburban Spec ED School District ($228,558)Speed Seja #802 School District ($188,046)Spec Educ District Lake County/Sedol School District ($149,537)Proviso Area Exceptional Child School District ($140,843)Nw Suburban Spec Educ Org School District ($121,855)
Indiana
$11,047
Gary Community School Corp School District ($34,642)Hamilton Community Schools School District ($23,082)School City Of East Chicago School District ($20,183)Indianapolis School District ($20,127)Muncie Community Schools School District ($18,908)
Kansas
$12,170
Kiowa County School District ($84,212)Chapman School District ($55,081)Erie-Galesburg School District ($37,799)Independence School District ($28,346)Sterling School District ($27,139)
Kentucky
$10,401
Pendleton County School District ($16,371)Anchorage Independent School District ($16,097)Fulton Independent School District ($16,035)Nicholas County School District ($15,590)Magoffin County School District ($15,136)
Louisiana
$11,486
Recovery School District-Lde School District ($318,191)Orleans Parish School District ($58,443)Cameron Parish School District ($40,091)Madison Parish School District ($24,086)Tensas Parish School District ($21,289)
Massachusetts
$15,598
Somerset Berkley Regional School District ($52,189)Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District ($39,537)Martha's Vineyard School District ($31,413)Cambridge School District ($31,379)Beverly School District ($29,106)
Maryland
$14,769
Loudoun County School District ($1,244,302)Worcester County School District ($18,493)Somerset County School District ($17,890)Kent County School District ($17,866)Baltimore City School District ($16,939)
Maine
$15,114
RSU 20 School District ($72,312)RSU 23 School District ($65,466)RSU 24 School District ($44,789)RSU 12 School District ($31,493)RSU 26 School District ($27,180)
Michigan
$13,177
Ingham Independent School District ($260,948)Traverse Bay Area Independent School District ($208,781)Bay-Arenac Independent School District ($166,967)Saginaw Independent School District ($117,747)Monroe Independent School District ($100,940)
Minnesota
$12,155
Freshwater ED. School District ($50,925)Northeast Metro 916 School District ($42,350)Meeker And Wright Special Education School District ($36,171)Intermediate School District 917 School District ($31,891)Greenway Public School District ($25,294)
Missouri
$11,326
Specl. Sch. Dst. St. Louis Co. School District ($86,153)Pathway Academy School District ($25,038)Delta R-V School District ($21,372)Brentwood School District ($20,874)Genesis School Inc. School District ($20,853)
Mississippi
$9,024
Bay St Louis Waveland School District ($22,607)Montgomery County School District ($22,070)Columbus Municipal School District ($16,427)East Jasper Consolidated School District ($15,333)Aberdeen School District ($13,642)
Montana
$10,900
Sidney High School District ($26,964)Poplar High School District ($22,547)Lame Deer Elementary School District ($20,965)Rocky Boy Elementary School District ($20,660)Hays-Lodge Pole K-12 Schls School District ($18,892)
North Carolina
$9,369
Hyde County Schools School District ($18,959)Halifax County Schools School District ($17,612)Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy School District ($17,424)Northampton County Schools School District ($16,569)Bertie County Schools School District ($16,189)
North Dakota
$10,682
Mandaree 36 School District ($24,151)Northwood 129 School District ($23,799)North Border 100 School District ($18,553)Barnes County North 7 School District ($17,836)Parshall 3 School District ($17,249)
Nebraska
$10,962
Friend School District ($37,908)Umo N Ho N Nation School District ($25,580)Elm Creek School District ($23,308)Southwest School District ($21,842)Creek Valley Schools School District ($19,841)
New Hampshire
$15,914
Rivendell Interstate School District ($42,563)Grantham School District ($38,456)Profile School District ($31,833)Northwood School District ($31,281)Chesterfield School District ($28,591)
New Jersey
$19,687
Morris-Union Jointure Commisson School District ($188,004)South Bergen Jointure Commission School District ($130,522)Bergen County Special Services School District ($126,529)Union County Educational Services Commission School District ($124,829)Educational Services Commission Of New Jersey School District ($109,751)
New Mexico
$11,361
Jemez Mountain School District ($29,060)Questa Independent Schools School District ($28,971)Mesa Vista Consolidated Schools School District ($25,688)Mountainair School District ($23,009)Jemez Valley School District ($22,987)
Nevada
$8,837
Eureka County School District ($27,739)Storey County School District ($17,519)Lincoln County School District ($14,652)Nye County School District ($13,749)Churchill County School District ($12,322)
New York
$13,175
Pocantico Hills Central School District ($94,276)Hawthorne-Cedar Knolls Union Free School District ($93,150)Mount Pleasant-Cottage Union Free School District ($90,327)Greenburgh-North Castle Union Free School District ($69,824)Tuxedo Union Free School District ($64,745)
Ohio
$13,516
Horizon Science Academy Elementary School District ($44,524)MT Healthy City School District ($32,201)Hardin Northern Local School District ($28,476)South Range Local School District ($27,369)East Cleveland City School District ($27,137)
Oklahoma
$7,876
Midland Independent School District ($234,401)Cheyenne School District ($17,166)Tipton School District ($15,042)Geary School District ($14,693)Frontier School District ($14,447)
Oregon
$10,629
Riverdale 51j School District ($36,379)Scio 95 School District ($26,325)Dufur 29 School District ($22,140)Port Orford-Langlois 2cj School District ($21,573)Dayton 8 School District ($21,069)
Pennsylvania
$15,747
Wilkinsburg Borough School District ($54,657)Duquesne City School District ($45,387)Chester-Upland School District ($35,877)Aliquippa School District ($31,837)Pittsburgh School District ($28,708)
Rhode Island
$16,221
Little Compton School District ($27,347)Jamestown School District ($26,908)Central Falls School District ($23,343)Narragansett School District ($21,832)Exeter-West Greenwich School District ($21,415)
South Carolina
$10,625
Mccormick 01 School District ($29,608)Allendale 01 School District ($22,688)Hampton 02 School District ($22,333)York 01 School District ($19,495)Clarendon 01 School District ($18,853)
South Dakota
$8,760
Freeman School District 33-1 School District ($21,387)Hill City School District 51-2 School District ($19,739)Oglala Lakota County 65-1 School District ($17,332)Sisseton School District 54-2 School District ($16,434)Andes Central School District 11-1 School District ($16,351)
Tennessee
$8,724
Hardin County School District ($17,068)Shelby County School District ($13,682)Franklin Ssd School District ($13,338)Oak Ridge School District ($12,070)Unicoi County School District ($12,014)
Texas
$10,021
Webb CISD School District ($71,691)Borden County Independent School District ($71,399)Rankin Independent School District ($70,521)Sabine Pass Independent School District ($60,452)Sterling City Independent School District ($57,505)
Utah
$6,922
Paradigm High School District ($35,925)North Davis Preparatory Academy School District ($32,582)Excelsior Academy School District ($31,994)Piute School District ($23,231)Grand School District ($22,365)
Virginia
$11,521
Lexington City School District ($25,744)Surry County School District ($21,222)Grayson County School District ($19,724)Charles City County School District ($18,900)Highland County School District ($18,699)
Vermont
$13,228
Norwich School District ($33,464)Thetford School District ($31,874)Rivendell Interstate School District ($31,618)Springfield School District ($27,944)Waits River Valley USD #36 School District ($27,263)
Washington
$10,570
White Pass School District ($52,207)La Conner School District ($44,564)Capital Region ESD 113 School District ($38,220)Freeman School District ($26,451)Lopez School District ($22,729)
Wisconsin
$12,875
Reedsville School District ($28,912)Tigerton School District ($27,106)Shawano School District ($26,958)Pecatonica Area School District ($26,192)Bayfield School District ($24,779)
West Virginia
$12,770
Lexington 04 School District ($75,181)Mcdowell County Schools School District ($22,012)Braxton County Schools School District ($18,241)Mingo County Schools School District ($17,387)Webster County Schools School District ($16,047)
Wyoming
$17,975
Fremont County School District #38 School District ($56,755)Sublette County School District #1 School District ($44,002)Sheridan County School District #1 School District ($33,835)Carbon County School District #2 School District ($31,852)Fremont County School District #21 School District ($28,624)
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Did You Know?
The state with highest average student spending / student is District of Columbia, with $19,903. The state with lowest average student spending / student is Utah, with $6,922.