States That Spend the Most (and the Least) on Education 2017

Schools in some states receive much larger sums of money -- up to three times more per pupil -- than in other states. Where the money comes from differs, too. And how schools opt to spend their funding varies significantly from state to state.

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released its Annual Survey of School System Finances, depicting revenues and spending for all public elementary-secondary school systems in 2017.

Here's a breakdown of some highlights:

 

Spending Per Pupil

Schools in New York spent $23,091 per pupil, the highest tally of any state, followed by the District of Columbia, Connecticut, New Jersey and Vermont. That’s the same top five as the year before.

By comparison, spending totaled less than $8,000 per student in Idaho, Oklahoma and Utah.

Numerous factors contribute to these large discrepancies, as we’ve reported previously. Utah, for instance, has the highest proportion of children of any state, so it has less resources to spread among its districts. Along with demographics, costs of living, teacher pay and benefits, class sizes and tax structures all dictate education spending.

State	Spending Per Pupil	Revenue Per Pupil
Idaho	7,486	8,587
Utah	7,179	8,775
Arizona	8,003	9,188
Oklahoma	7,940	9,210
North Carolina	9,072	9,588
Mississippi	8,771	9,858
Tennessee	9,184	10,059
Florida	9,075	10,349
Nevada	9,320	10,544
Alabama	9,511	10,618
Arkansas	9,967	11,404
South Dakota	9,939	11,523
Texas	9,375	11,576
Kentucky	10,121	11,578
Colorado	9,809	11,727
Georgia	10,205	11,758
New Mexico	9,881	11,886
Montana	11,443	12,463
Missouri	10,589	12,492
Indiana	10,045	12,657
Kansas	10,961	12,712
West Virginia	11,554	12,726
Louisiana	11,199	12,810
Virginia	11,886	12,846
South Carolina	10,590	13,006
Oregon	11,264	13,268
Iowa	11,461	13,531
Wisconsin	11,968	13,653
Nebraska	12,579	13,898
Michigan	11,907	14,132
Washington	11,989	14,248
California	12,143	14,383
Ohio	12,645	14,818
Minnesota	12,647	15,193
Maine	13,690	15,534
Hawaii	14,322	15,666
North Dakota	13,760	16,172
Maryland	14,848	16,835
New Hampshire	15,683	17,475
Illinois	15,337	17,489
Delaware	15,302	18,157
Rhode Island	15,943	18,330
Alaska	17,838	18,868
Massachusetts	16,197	19,609
Pennsylvania	15,798	19,780
Wyoming	16,537	20,549
Vermont	18,290	20,594
New Jersey	18,920	21,603
Connecticut	19,322	22,324
New York	23,091	26,954
D.C.	21,974	31,382

SOURCE: 2017 Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 11

These numbers won’t reflect more recent funding changes, such as the 19 percent pay raise Arizona teachers are set to eventually receive from legislation passed last year.

 

Funding Sources

Nationally, federal funding accounts for about 8 percent of education funding, while the rest is split nearly evenly between state and local sources.

In Vermont, state funds make up 90 percent of total revenues -- the most of any state.

On the low end, the state government accounts for only about a third of funding in Nebraska, New Hampshire and South Dakota.

Despite the large disparities, these differences don’t correlate with total per pupil funding, at least at the state level.

State	Federal sources (%)	State sources (%)	Local sources (%)
New Mexico	14.4	66.4	19.2
Mississippi	14.1	50.8	35.1
Alaska	14.0	63.9	22.1
Arizona	13.7	40.1	46.2
South Dakota	12.8	34.1	53.2
Louisiana	12.4	41.4	46.1
Montana	12.0	46.9	41.1
West Virginia	11.6	53.9	34.5
Kentucky	11.5	54.7	33.8
Tennessee	11.5	45.9	42.5
North Carolina	11.2	61.5	27.3
Oklahoma	11.1	46.6	42.3
Florida	11.0	39.1	49.8
District of Columbia	11.0		89.0
Arkansas	10.9	75.8	13.3
Alabama	10.3	55.0	34.7
Texas	10.1	35.6	54.2
Idaho	9.8	65.0	25.1
North Dakota	9.2	58.0	32.8
Nevada	9.1	63.2	27.6
Georgia	9.1	45.2	45.7
Hawaii	8.9	89.1	2.0
California	8.9	57.3	33.9
South Carolina	8.8	47.5	43.7
Kansas	8.6	64.0	27.5
Missouri	8.4	42.2	49.5
Utah	8.2	51.8	40.0
Michigan	8.1	58.6	33.3
Nebraska	7.7	32.7	59.6
Indiana	7.4	62.6	30.1
Oregon	7.3	52.5	40.2
Rhode Island	7.2	40.5	52.2
Ohio	7.1	40.3	52.6
Iowa	6.9	54.1	39.0
Wisconsin	6.9	53.0	40.1
Virginia	6.8	39.7	53.4
Washington	6.8	62.8	30.4
Colorado	6.7	43.1	50.1
Maine	6.7	38.3	55.0
Illinois	6.5	41.0	52.4
Pennsylvania	6.4	38.7	54.9
Delaware	6.3	59.2	34.5
Vermont	6.1	90.3	3.6
Wyoming	6.1	59.1	34.7
Maryland	5.7	43.6	50.7
New Hampshire	5.4	32.1	62.5
New York	5.3	40.8	53.9
Minnesota	5.2	64.9	29.8
Connecticut	4.3	38.0	57.7
Massachusetts	4.3	38.7	57.0
New Jersey	4.1	41.0	54.9

SOURCE: 2017 Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 5

 

How Funding Is Spent

Instruction, which includes teacher wages and benefits, accounts for the majority of elementary-secondary school spending. But just how much varies by state.

In New York, instruction makes up about 70 percent of total spending -- the highest share of any state. The next-highest states are Nebraska (65.3 percent), Minnesota (64.8 percent) and Utah (64 percent).

Alaska and Arizona, by comparison, spent just 54 percent on instruction -- the lowest share nationally.

States like New Hampshire and Vermont tend to spend somewhat more on administrative expenses than other states.



NOTE: Adult education, community services and other nonelementary-secondary program expenditures are excluded. Enrollments for state educational facilities and charter schools whose charters are held by nongovernmental entities are also not reflected in the totals. "Other" spending includes non-personnel related expenses, such as capital outlays and transfer payments to municipal entities.

 

Changes in Spending

A few states experienced sizable upswings in spending in 2017.

Per pupil spending increased 10 percent over the year in Kansas, the most of any state, followed by D.C., South Dakota and Illinois.

But in seven other states, spending failed to keep pace with inflation: Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma and Wyoming. Of those, only in Wyoming is school spending relatively high compared to elsewhere. Spending in Oklahoma actually declined nearly 2 percent, according to Census data.

Looking back further, spending in most states has climbed higher. From 2014 to 2017, the largest per pupil increases were in California (26.6 percent), Washington state (17.5 percent) and Illinois (17.3 percent).

State	2017 Spending	1-year change	3-year change
Alaska	17,838	1.9%	-3.1%
Oklahoma	7,940	-1.9%	1.4%
West Virginia	11,554	2.3%	2.7%
Arkansas	9,967	1.2%	3.6%
Florida	9,075	1.7%	3.7%
Montana	11,443	0.8%	3.9%
Louisiana	11,199	1.5%	4.2%
Wyoming	16,537	0.6%	4.7%
Indiana	10,045	1.9%	5.2%
Alabama	9,511	2.9%	5.4%
New Jersey	18,920	2.8%	5.7%
Maryland	14,848	4.5%	6.0%
Mississippi	8,771	0.8%	6.1%
Arizona	8,003	5.1%	6.3%
Tennessee	9,184	4.2%	6.4%
North Carolina	9,072	3.2%	6.6%
Wisconsin	11,968	4.5%	7.0%
Michigan	11,907	2.0%	7.2%
Missouri	10,589	2.7%	7.2%
Nebraska	12,579	2.3%	7.3%
Massachusetts	16,197	3.9%	7.4%
Iowa	11,461	2.8%	7.4%
Vermont	18,290	2.3%	7.7%
Maine	13,690	3.1%	7.7%
Rhode Island	15,943	2.7%	8.0%
Virginia	11,886	4.0%	8.3%
Kentucky	10,121	2.6%	8.7%
South Carolina	10,590	3.3%	8.8%
Connecticut	19,322	1.9%	8.9%
Texas	9,375	4.0%	9.1%
Colorado	9,809	2.4%	9.2%
New Hampshire	15,683	2.2%	9.4%
New Mexico	9,881	1.9%	9.7%
Delaware	15,302	4.0%	9.8%
Kansas	10,961	10.1%	10.3%
Minnesota	12,647	2.1%	10.3%
Utah	7,179	3.2%	10.4%
Nevada	9,320	4.0%	10.8%
United States	12,201	3.7%	10.9%
Georgia	10,205	4.5%	10.9%
North Dakota	13,760	2.9%	11.3%
Ohio	12,645	4.5%	11.4%
South Dakota	9,939	8.3%	11.9%
New York	23,091	3.2%	12.1%
Idaho	7,486	4.6%	13.1%
Pennsylvania	15,798	2.3%	13.2%
Oregon	11,264	3.9%	13.3%
Hawaii	14,322	4.2%	15.5%
Illinois	15,337	8.2%	17.3%
Washington	11,989	3.9%	17.5%
District of Columbia	21,974	8.6%	18.9%
California	12,143	5.6%	26.6%

SOURCE: Census Annual Survey of School System Finances, 2017, 2016, 2014 per pupil current spending data