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Chapter 8. State Indicators

Elementary and Secondary Education

Expenditures per Pupil for Elementary and Secondary Public Schools



Findings

  • Per-pupil spending on day-to-day operations grew nationwide from $6,911 in 2000 to $10,652 in 2010, an increase of 54% in unadjusted dollars. This was equivalent to an increase of approximately 23% after adjusting for inflation.
  • In 2010, all states showed substantial increases in per-pupil spending relative to 2000, and only one state did not exceed the 2000 national average.
  • Per-pupil spending in individual states varied widely, ranging from a low of $6,452 to a high of $18,167 in 2010. The District of Columbia had the highest per-pupil spending of any jurisdiction at $20,910.
  • Several states that ranked in the lower two quartiles of this indicator ranked in the upper quartiles of the National Assessment of Educational Progress indicators.


Description

This indicator represents the amount that local, state, and federal governments spend on elementary and secondary education in a state, adjusted for the size of the student body. It is calculated by dividing the expenditures over the entire academic year for prekindergarten through grade 12 by the number of students in those grades in public schools. Expenditures include expenditures for instruction and instruction-related costs, student support services, administration, and operations and exclude funds for school construction and other capital outlays, debt service, and programs outside of public elementary and secondary education. The number of pupils enrolled in prekindergarten through grade 12 is determined during the fall of the academic year. Expenditures represent actual spending in current dollars and have not been adjusted for inflation or for the cost of living in a state, which affects the amount of goods and services that can be purchased.

During the 2009–10 school year, 66.1% of expenses were used for instructional costs, 17.7% for operational costs, 10.7% for administrative costs, and 5.6% for student support services.

The year is the end date of the academic year. For example, data for 2010 represent costs for the 2009–10 academic year.


Data Table

Table 8-11
Expenditures per pupil for elementary and secondary public schools, by state: 2000, 2005, and 2010
 
Public school expenditures
($thousands) 		Student enrollment Per-pupil
expenditures ($)
State 2000 2005 2010 2000 2005 2010 2000 2005 2010
 
United States 323,808,910 424,562,096 525,497,899 46,857,149 48,794,911 49,333,543 6,911 8,701 10,652
Alabama 4,176,082 5,164,406 6,670,517 740,732 730,140 748,889 5,638 7,073 8,907
Alaska 1,183,499 1,442,269 2,084,019 134,391 132,970 131,661 8,806 10,847 15,829
Arizona 4,262,182 6,451,870 8,587,889* 852,612 1,043,298 1,077,831 4,999 6,184 7,968
Arkansas 2,380,331 3,546,999 4,459,910* 451,034 463,115 480,559 5,277 7,659 9,281
California 38,129,479 50,918,654 58,248,662* 6,038,590 6,441,557 6,263,438 6,314 7,905 9,300
Colorado 4,400,888 5,994,440 7,429,302 708,109 765,976 832,368 6,215 7,826 8,926
Connecticut 5,402,868 7,080,396 8,853,337* 553,993 577,390 563,968 9,753 12,263 15,698
Delaware 937,630 1,299,349 1,549,812 112,836 119,091 126,801 8,310 10,911 12,222
District of Columbia 780,192 1,023,952 1,451,870 77,194 76,714 69,433 10,107 13,348 20,910
Florida 13,885,988 19,042,877 23,349,314* 2,381,396 2,639,336 2,634,522 5,831 7,215 8,863
Georgia 9,158,624 12,528,856 15,730,409* 1,422,762 1,553,437 1,667,685 6,437 8,065 9,432
Hawaii 1,213,695 1,648,086 2,110,864 185,860 183,185 180,196 6,530 8,997 11,714
Idaho 1,302,817 1,618,215 1,961,857* 245,136 256,084 276,299 5,315 6,319 7,100
Illinois 14,462,773 18,658,428 24,695,773* 2,027,600 2,097,503 2,103,813 7,133 8,896 11,739
Indiana 7,110,930 9,108,931 9,921,243* 988,702 1,021,348 1,046,661 7,192 8,919 9,479
Iowa 3,264,336 3,808,200 4,794,308 497,301 478,319 491,842 6,564 7,962 9,748
Kansas 2,971,814 3,718,153 4,731,676 472,188 469,136 474,489 6,294 7,926 9,972
Kentucky 3,837,794 4,812,591 6,091,814 648,180 674,796 680,089 5,921 7,132 8,957
Louisiana 4,391,214 5,554,766 7,393,452* 756,579 724,281 690,915 5,804 7,669 10,701
Maine 1,604,438 2,056,266 2,356,312* 209,253 198,820 189,225 7,667 10,342 12,452
Maryland 6,545,135 8,682,586 11,883,677* 846,582 865,561 848,412 7,731 10,031 14,007
Massachusetts 8,511,065 11,357,857 14,067,276* 971,425 975,574 957,053 8,761 11,642 14,699
Michigan 13,994,294 16,353,921 17,227,515 1,725,639 1,750,919 1,649,082 8,110 9,340 10,447
Minnesota 6,140,442 7,310,284 8,927,288* 854,034 838,503 837,053 7,190 8,718 10,665
Mississippi 2,510,376 3,243,888 3,990,876* 500,716 495,376 492,481 5,014 6,548 8,104
Missouri 5,655,531 7,115,207 8,923,448* 914,110 905,449 917,982 6,187 7,858 9,721
Montana 994,770 1,193,182 1,498,252 157,556 146,705 141,807 6,314 8,133 10,565
Nebraska 1,926,500 2,512,914 3,247,970 288,261 285,761 283,414 6,683 8,794 11,460
Nevada 1,875,467 2,722,264 3,592,994 325,610 400,083 428,947 5,760 6,804 8,376
New Hampshire 1,418,503 2,021,144 2,576,956 206,783 206,852 197,140 6,860 9,771 13,072
New Jersey 13,327,645 19,669,576 24,261,392 1,289,256 1,393,347 1,396,029 10,337 14,117 17,379
New Mexico 1,890,274 2,554,638 3,217,328 324,495 326,102 334,419 5,825 7,834 9,621
New York 28,433,240 38,866,853 50,251,461* 2,887,776 2,836,337 2,766,052 9,846 13,703 18,167
North Carolina 7,713,293 9,567,000 12,200,362 1,275,925 1,385,754 1,483,397 6,045 6,904 8,225
North Dakota 638,946 786,870 1,000,095 112,751 100,513 95,073 5,667 7,829 10,519
Ohio 12,974,575 17,167,866 19,801,670 1,836,554 1,840,032 1,764,297 7,065 9,330 11,224
Oklahoma 3,382,581 4,161,024 5,192,124 627,032 629,476 654,802 5,395 6,610 7,929
Oregon 3,896,287 4,458,028 5,401,667 545,033 552,322 582,839 7,149 8,071 9,268
Pennsylvania 14,120,112 18,711,100 22,733,518 1,816,716 1,828,089 1,785,993 7,772 10,235 12,729
Rhode Island 1,393,143 1,825,900 2,136,582* 156,454 156,498 145,118 8,904 11,667 14,723
South Carolina 4,087,355 5,312,739 6,566,165 666,780 703,736 723,143 6,130 7,549 9,080
South Dakota 737,998 916,563 1,115,861 131,037 122,798 123,713 5,632 7,464 9,020
Tennessee 4,931,734 6,446,691 7,894,661 916,202 941,091 972,549 5,383 6,850 8,117
Texas 25,098,703 31,919,107 42,621,886 3,991,783 4,405,215 4,850,210 6,288 7,246 8,788
Utah 2,102,655 2,627,022 3,635,085 480,255 503,607 563,361 4,378 5,216 6,452
Vermont 870,198 1,177,478 1,463,792 104,559 98,352 91,451 8,323 11,972 16,006
Virginia 7,757,598 10,705,162 13,193,633 1,133,994 1,204,739 1,245,340 6,841 8,886 10,594
Washington 6,399,883 7,870,979 9,832,913 1,003,714 1,020,005 1,035,347 6,376 7,717 9,497
West Virginia 2,086,937 2,527,767 3,315,648 291,811 280,129 282,662 7,152 9,024 11,730
Wisconsin 6,852,178 8,435,359 9,918,809 877,753 864,757 866,072 7,806 9,755 11,453
Wyoming 683,918 863,423 1,334,655 92,105 84,733 87,621 7,425 10,190 15,232
 
Puerto Rico 2,086,414 2,865,945 3,464,044* 613,019 575,648 493,393 3,404 4,979 7,021
 

* = value is affected by the redistribution of reported values to correct for missing data items and/or to distribute state direct-support expenditures.

SOURCES: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), NCES Common Core of Data, State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education (various years); National Public Education Financial Survey (various years).

Science and Engineering Indicators 2014


State Data Tool

The state data tool allows interactive exploration of the 58 indicators in this chapter. Users have the ability to choose and explore a single indicator in-depth, compare multiple indicators for preselected groups, customize their own graphics, or download data tables. Click the button below to get started.

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