Public school system expenditures in the United States
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Each year the federal government posts data detailing public school system expenditures throughout the United States. The tables on this page display this information by year.
Fiscal year 2012
Expenditures in dollars
In fiscal year 2012, California reported the highest total public education expenditures in the country, while North Dakota reported the lowest.
The table below displays this information and more for all fifty states and the District of Columbia. All dollar amounts displayed are in thousands, meaning that if the table displayed the amount "$4,000,000," it would translate to "$4,000,000,000."
Note: Click on a column heading to sort the data.
| Public school system expenditures for elementary and secondary school districts by state: Fiscal year 2012 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | General expenditures | Capital outlay | Other | Total expenditures | |||||||||||
| Alabama | $6,386,517 | $582,174 | $260,609 | $7,229,299 | |||||||||||
| Alaska | $2,292,205 | $145,342 | $49,405 | $2,486,951 | |||||||||||
| Arizona | $7,974,545 | $922,249 | $282,469 | $9,179,262 | |||||||||||
| Arkansas | $4,606,995 | $625,078 | $161,257 | $5,393,330 | |||||||||||
| California | $57,975,189 | $6,693,286 | $3,264,820 | $67,933,295 | |||||||||||
| Colorado | $7,341,585 | $706,235 | $500,592 | $8,548,413 | |||||||||||
| Connecticut | $9,344,999 | $680,346 | $280,432 | $10,305,777 | |||||||||||
| Delaware | $1,751,143 | $160,863 | $66,556 | $1,978,562 | |||||||||||
| District of Columbia | $1,466,888 | $350,946 | $62,632 | $1,880,466 | |||||||||||
| Florida | $22,732,752 | $1,837,262 | $1,257,396 | $25,827,411 | |||||||||||
| Georgia | $15,623,633 | $1,566,186 | $275,277 | $17,465,095 | |||||||||||
| Hawaii | $2,187,480 | $124,096 | $119,847 | $2,431,422 | |||||||||||
| Idaho | $1,854,556 | $135,343 | $62,396 | $2,052,295 | |||||||||||
| Illinois | $25,012,915 | $2,169,706 | $1,014,430 | $28,197,052 | |||||||||||
| Indiana | $9,978,491 | $943,637 | $490,288 | $11,412,416 | |||||||||||
| Iowa | $4,971,944 | $905,979 | $143,821 | $6,021,744 | |||||||||||
| Kansas | $4,871,381 | $682,545 | $205,847 | $5,759,773 | |||||||||||
| Kentucky | $6,360,799 | $770,828 | $263,084 | $7,394,709 | |||||||||||
| Louisiana | $7,544,782 | $744,610 | $168,301 | $8,457,692 | |||||||||||
| Maine | $2,330,842 | $121,420 | $83,940 | $2,536,202 | |||||||||||
| Maryland | $11,846,681 | $1,166,855 | $191,240 | $13,204,777 | |||||||||||
| Massachusetts | $14,151,659 | $1,117,723 | $302,920 | $15,572,302 | |||||||||||
| Michigan | $16,485,178 | $1,376,616 | $1,195,005 | $19,056,799 | |||||||||||
| Minnesota | $9,053,021 | $1,069,044 | $815,947 | $10,938,012 | |||||||||||
| Mississippi | $3,972,787 | $402,465 | $97,791 | $4,341,018 | |||||||||||
| Missouri | $8,719,925 | $894,459 | $559,071 | $10,173,456 | |||||||||||
| Montana | $1,504,531 | $120,771 | $29,324 | $1,654,625 | |||||||||||
| Nebraska | $3,356,734 | $348,343 | $90,194 | $3,795,271 | |||||||||||
| Nevada | $3,574,233 | $327,173 | $262,933 | $4,164,339 | |||||||||||
| New Hampshire | $2,643,256 | $159,997 | $52,826 | $2,856,080 | |||||||||||
| New Jersey | $24,391,278 | $912,022 | $828,162 | $26,131,462 | |||||||||||
| New Mexico | $3,039,423 | $516,030 | $4,253 | $3,559,706 | |||||||||||
| New York | $52,460,494 | $2,097,414 | $3,538,973 | $58,096,880 | |||||||||||
| North Carolina | $12,303,426 | $683,545 | $73,186 | $13,060,157 | |||||||||||
| North Dakota | $1,098,090 | $160,058 | $22,521 | $1,280,669 | |||||||||||
| Ohio | $19,701,810 | $2,467,639 | $1,016,716 | $23,186,166 | |||||||||||
| Oklahoma | $5,170,978 | $496,206 | $81,793 | $5,748,976 | |||||||||||
| Oregon | $5,389,273 | $448,212 | $341,375 | $6,178,860 | |||||||||||
| Pennsylvania | $23,190,198 | $1,822,157 | $1,584,480 | $26,596,835 | |||||||||||
| Rhode Island | $2,167,450 | $36,926 | $113,513 | $2,317,889 | |||||||||||
| South Carolina | $6,600,733 | $889,985 | $465,351 | $7,956,070 | |||||||||||
| South Dakota | $1,100,100 | $172,739 | $30,036 | $1,302,875 | |||||||||||
| Tennessee | $8,351,056 | $664,129 | $280,056 | $9,295,241 | |||||||||||
| Texas | $41,067,619 | $5,536,571 | $3,387,145 | $49,991,336 | |||||||||||
| Utah | $3,779,760 | $746,262 | $264,051 | $4,790,073 | |||||||||||
| Vermont | $1,497,093 | $46,008 | $25,192 | $1,568,294 | |||||||||||
| Virginia | $13,403,576 | $1,078,786 | $248,334 | $14,730,695 | |||||||||||
| Washington | $10,054,077 | $1,545,989 | $452,833 | $12,052,898 | |||||||||||
| West Virginia | $3,275,246 | $69,610 | $64,247 | $3,409,105 | |||||||||||
| Wisconsin | $9,704,932 | $450,303 | $453,800 | $10,609,035 | |||||||||||
| Wyoming | $1,432,216 | $213,239 | $10,455 | $1,655,911 | |||||||||||
| United States | $527,096,473 | $48,773,386 | $25,897,123 | $601,766,981 | |||||||||||
| Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Revenues and expenditures for public elementary and secondary education: School year 2011–12 (Fiscal year 2012)" | |||||||||||||||
Expenditures in percentages
Below is a table displaying expenditures in percentages. This chart helps to identify which states report higher capital outlay, or costs outside of general operating expenses. Capital outlay can refer to construction and equipment expenditures. "Other" expenses include alternative education programs and interest on debt.
The following states reported the highest and lowest expenditures in each of the three categories:
- General expenditures
- Highest: West Virginia
- Lowest: Washington, D.C.
- Capital outlay
- Highest: Washington, D.C.
- Lowest: Rhode Island
- Other
- Highest: Minnesota
- Lowest: New Mexico
Note: Click on a column heading to sort the data.
| Public school system expenditures for elementary and secondary school districts by state, in percentages: Fiscal year 2012 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | General expenditures | Capital outlay | Other | ||
| Alabama | 88.34% | 8.05% | 3.6% | ||
| Alaska | 92.17% | 5.84% | 1.99% | ||
| Arizona | 86.88% | 10.05% | 3.08% | ||
| Arkansas | 85.42% | 11.59% | 2.99% | ||
| California | 85.34% | 9.85% | 4.81% | ||
| Colorado | 85.88% | 8.26% | 5.86% | ||
| Connecticut | 90.68% | 6.6% | 2.72% | ||
| Delaware | 88.51% | 8.13% | 3.36% | ||
| District of Columbia | 78.01% | 18.66% | 3.33% | ||
| Florida | 88.02% | 7.11% | 4.87% | ||
| Georgia | 89.46% | 8.97% | 1.58% | ||
| Hawaii | 89.97% | 5.1% | 4.93% | ||
| Idaho | 90.36% | 6.59% | 3.04% | ||
| Illinois | 88.71% | 7.69% | 3.6% | ||
| Indiana | 87.44% | 8.27% | 4.3% | ||
| Iowa | 82.57% | 15.05% | 2.39% | ||
| Kansas | 84.58% | 11.85% | 3.57% | ||
| Kentucky | 86.02% | 10.42% | 3.56% | ||
| Louisiana | 89.21% | 8.8% | 1.99% | ||
| Maine | 91.9% | 4.79% | 3.31% | ||
| Maryland | 89.72% | 8.84% | 1.45% | ||
| Massachusetts | 90.88% | 7.18% | 1.95% | ||
| Michigan | 86.51% | 7.22% | 6.27% | ||
| Minnesota | 82.77% | 9.77% | 7.46% | ||
| Mississippi | 91.52% | 9.27% | 2.25% | ||
| Missouri | 85.71% | 8.79% | 5.5% | ||
| Montana | 90.93% | 7.3% | 1.77% | ||
| Nebraska | 88.45% | 9.18% | 2.38% | ||
| Nevada | 85.83% | 7.86% | 6.31% | ||
| New Hampshire | 92.55% | 5.6% | 1.85% | ||
| New Jersey | 93.34% | 3.49% | 3.17% | ||
| New Mexico | 85.38% | 14.5% | 0.12% | ||
| New York | 90.3% | 3.61% | 6.09% | ||
| North Carolina | 94.21% | 5.23% | 0.56% | ||
| North Dakota | 85.74% | 12.5% | 1.76% | ||
| Ohio | 84.97% | 10.64% | 4.39% | ||
| Oklahoma | 89.95% | 8.63% | 1.42% | ||
| Oregon | 87.22% | 7.25% | 5.52% | ||
| Pennsylvania | 87.19% | 6.85% | 5.96% | ||
| Rhode Island | 93.51% | 1.59% | 4.9% | ||
| South Carolina | 82.96% | 11.19% | 5.85% | ||
| South Dakota | 84.44% | 13.26% | 2.31% | ||
| Tennessee | 89.84% | 7.14% | 3.01% | ||
| Texas | 82.15% | 11.08% | 6.78% | ||
| Utah | 78.91% | 15.58% | 5.51% | ||
| Vermont | 95.46% | 2.93% | 1.61% | ||
| Virginia | 90.99% | 7.32% | 1.69% | ||
| Washington | 83.42% | 12.83% | 3.76% | ||
| West Virginia | 96.07% | 2.04% | 1.88% | ||
| Wisconsin | 91.48% | 4.24% | 4.28% | ||
| Wyoming | 86.49% | 12.88% | 0.63% | ||
| United States | 87.59% | 8.11% | 4.3% | ||
| Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Revenues and expenditures for public elementary and secondary education: School year 2011–12 (Fiscal year 2012)" | |||||
Fiscal year 2011
The table below details public school system expenditures for elementary and secondary education in fiscal year 2011. California had the highest amount of total expenditures, while North Dakota had the least.
Note: Click on a column heading to sort the data.
| Summary of public school system expenditures for elementary and secondary school districts, by state: Fiscal year 2011 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Total | Current expenditures | Current expenditures percentage | Capital outlay | Capital outlay Percentage | Other | Other Percentage | ||||||||
| Alabama | $7,402,584.00 | $6,582,496.00 | 88.92% | $564,183.00 | 7.62% | $255,905.00 | 3.46% | ||||||||
| Alaska | $2,439,916.00 | $2,192,045.00 | 89.84% | $180,137.00 | 7.38% | $67,734.00 | 2.78% | ||||||||
| Arizona | $9,587,471.00 | $8,157,006.00 | 85.08% | $796,052.00 | 8.3% | $634,413.00 | 6.62% | ||||||||
| Arkansas | $5,682,263.00 | $4,495,309.00 | 79.11% | $607,962.00 | 10.7% | $578,992.00 | 10.19% | ||||||||
| California | $66,900,232.00 | $56,784,812.00 | 84.88% | $6,535,512.00 | 9.77% | $3,579,908.00 | 5.35% | ||||||||
| Colorado | $8,696,004.00 | $7,338,499.00 | 84.39% | $836,045.00 | 9.61% | $521,460.00 | 6% | ||||||||
| Connecticut | $9,305,526.00 | $8,367,518.00 | 89.92% | $533,188.00 | 5.73% | $404,820.00 | 4.35% | ||||||||
| Delaware | $1,853,962.00 | $1,615,778.00 | 87.15% | $184,094.00 | 9.93% | $54,090.00 | 2.92% | ||||||||
| District of Columbia | $1,908,688.00 | $1,326,489.00 | 69.5% | $391,623.00 | 20.52% | $190,576.00 | 9.98% | ||||||||
| Florida | $26,991,946.00 | $23,428,499.00 | 86.8% | $2,217,069.00 | 8.21% | $1,346,378.00 | 4.99% | ||||||||
| Georgia | $17,125,512.00 | $15,465,308.00 | 90.31% | $1,368,403.00 | 7.99% | $291,801.00 | 1.7% | ||||||||
| Hawaii | $2,259,104.00 | $2,156,001.00 | 95.44% | $85,476.00 | 3.78% | $17,627.00 | 0.78% | ||||||||
| Idaho | $2,018,354.00 | $1,867,679.00 | 92.53% | $85,001.00 | 4.21% | $65,674.00 | 3.25% | ||||||||
| Illinois | $27,548,749.00 | $24,525,567.00 | 89.03% | $1,884,976.00 | 6.84% | $1,138,206.00 | 4.13% | ||||||||
| Indiana | $11,073,872.00 | $9,769,064.00 | 88.22% | $881,151.00 | 7.96% | $423,657.00 | 3.83% | ||||||||
| Iowa | $5,827,630.00 | $4,839,681.00 | 83.05% | $861,361.00 | 14.78% | $126,588.00 | 2.17% | ||||||||
| Kansas | $5,654,054.00 | $4,584,376.00 | 81.08% | $851,777.00 | 15.06% | $217,901.00 | 3.85% | ||||||||
| Kentucky | $7,251,892.00 | $6,264,504.00 | 86.38% | $733,357.00 | 10.11% | $254,031.00 | 3.5% | ||||||||
| Louisiana | $8,402,697.00 | $7,440,499.00 | 88.55% | $812,768.00 | 9.67% | $149,430.00 | 1.78% | ||||||||
| Maine | $2,676,891.00 | $2,369,256.00 | 88.51% | $164,949.00 | 6.16% | $142,686.00 | 5.33% | ||||||||
| Maryland | $12,993,862.00 | $11,818,032.00 | 90.95% | $989,839.00 | 7.62% | $185,991.00 | 1.43% | ||||||||
| Massachusetts | $14,479,249.00 | $12,894,969.00 | 89.06% | $817,228.00 | 5.64% | $767,052.00 | 5.3% | ||||||||
| Michigan | $19,331,718.00 | $16,728,164.00 | 86.53% | $1,334,386.00 | 6.9% | $1,269,168.00 | 6.57% | ||||||||
| Minnesota | $10,867,816.00 | $8,907,505.00 | 81.96% | $1,077,969.00 | 9.92% | $882,342.00 | 8.12% | ||||||||
| Mississippi | $4,345,783.00 | $3,888,831.00 | 89.49% | $368,906.00 | 8.49% | $88,046.00 | 2.03% | ||||||||
| Missouri | $9,983,600.00 | $8,664,338.00 | 86.79% | $856,962.00 | 8.58% | $462,300.00 | 4.63% | ||||||||
| Montana | $1,635,886.00 | $1,506,467.00 | 92.09% | $103,728.00 | 6.34% | $25,691.00 | 1.57% | ||||||||
| Nebraska | $3,656,997.00 | $3,222,194.00 | 88.11% | $349,683.00 | 9.56% | $85,120.00 | 2.33% | ||||||||
| Nevada | $4,306,677.00 | $3,712,313.00 | 86.2% | $324,287.00 | 7.53% | $270,077.00 | 6.27% | ||||||||
| New Hampshire | $2,838,178.00 | $2,502,899.00 | 88.19% | $206,241.00 | 7.27% | $129,038.00 | 4.55% | ||||||||
| New Jersey | $25,011,151.00 | $22,686,943.00 | 90.71% | $930,701.00 | 3.72% | $1,393,507.00 | 5.57% | ||||||||
| New Mexico | $3,732,670.00 | $3,045,075.00 | 81.58% | $621,504.00 | 16.65% | $66,091.00 | 1.77% | ||||||||
| New York | $58,540,377.00 | $51,203,701.00 | 87.47% | $4,655,961.00 | 7.95% | $2,680,715.00 | 4.58% | ||||||||
| North Carolina | $14,069,438.00 | $12,335,701.00 | 87.68% | $1,058,530.00 | 7.52% | $675,207.00 | 4.8% | ||||||||
| North Dakota | $1,252,739.00 | $1,099,271.00 | 87.75% | $124,967.00 | 9.98% | $28,501.00 | 2.28% | ||||||||
| Ohio | $23,258,406.00 | $19,673,291.00 | 84.59% | $2,516,739.00 | 10.82% | $1,068,376.00 | 4.59% | ||||||||
| Oklahoma | $5,603,623.00 | $5,001,641.00 | 89.26% | $510,611.00 | 9.11% | $91,371.00 | 1.63% | ||||||||
| Oregon | $6,205,416.00 | $5,418,357.00 | 87.32% | $461,979.00 | 7.44% | $325,080.00 | 5.24% | ||||||||
| Pennsylvania | $27,288,887.00 | $23,541,287.00 | 86.27% | $2,269,812.00 | 8.32% | $1,477,788.00 | 5.42% | ||||||||
| Rhode Island | $2,305,947.00 | $2,059,636.00 | 89.32% | $47,973.00 | 2.08% | $198,338.00 | 8.6% | ||||||||
| South Carolina | $7,930,047.00 | $6,455,918.00 | 81.41% | $1,018,769.00 | 12.85% | $455,360.00 | 5.74% | ||||||||
| South Dakota | $1,340,399.00 | $1,105,964.00 | 82.51% | $199,636.00 | 14.89% | $34,799.00 | 2.6% | ||||||||
| Tennessee | $8,934,633.00 | $7,977,696.00 | 89.29% | $661,195.00 | 7.4% | $295,742.00 | 3.31% | ||||||||
| Texas | $53,697,106.00 | $42,782,827.00 | 79.67% | $6,556,210.00 | 12.21% | $4,358,069.00 | 8.12% | ||||||||
| Utah | $4,527,893.00 | $3,600,074.00 | 79.51% | $693,458.00 | 15.32% | $234,361.00 | 5.18% | ||||||||
| Vermont | $1,547,019.00 | $1,404,710.00 | 90.8% | $63,812.00 | 4.12% | $78,497.00 | 5.07% | ||||||||
| Virginia | $14,464,579.00 | $12,964,134.00 | 89.63% | $1,075,067.00 | 7.43% | $425,378.00 | 2.94% | ||||||||
| Washington | $11,888,591.00 | $9,890,471.00 | 83.19% | $1,467,334.00 | 12.34% | $530,786.00 | 4.46% | ||||||||
| West Virginia | $3,668,387.00 | $3,342,238.00 | 91.11% | $269,242.00 | 7.34% | $56,907.00 | 1.55% | ||||||||
| Wisconsin | $11,186,653.00 | $10,175,521.00 | 90.96% | $541,918.00 | 4.84% | $469,214.00 | 4.19% | ||||||||
| Wyoming | $1,642,251.00 | $1,397,339.00 | 85.09% | $234,408.00 | 14.27% | $10,504.00 | 0.64% | ||||||||
| United States | $603,143,325.00 | $520,577,893.00 | 86.31% | $52,984,139.00 | 8.78% | $29,581,293.00 | 4.90% | ||||||||
| Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "School District Finance Survey (F-33)," fiscal year 2011, Provisional Version 1a. | |||||||||||||||
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