Public school current spending per pupil in California

Public school current spending per pupil in California was $20,791 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 10.6% from 2023. That is the 14th highest of 51 states in 2024.

2024, USD20,791

Change on 2023+10.6%

Rank14th of 51US states ranked

Series high20,7912024

Series low7,5112002

Next release: Friday, 14 May 2027, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (medium confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

Public school current spending per pupil in California, 2002 to 2024

USD. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 8: per pupil amounts for current spending of public elementary-secondary school systems by state, total. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-05-07.

All 23 values

Period	USD
2024	20,791
2023	18,798
2022	17,049
2021	14,985
2020	14,031
2019	14,034
2018	12,143
2017	12,145
2016	11,495
2015	10,467
2014	9,595
2013	9,220
2012	9,183
2011	9,149
2010	9,375
2009	9,657
2008	9,863
2007	9,152
2006	8,486
2005	8,067
2004	7,748
2003	7,691
2002	7,511

Compared with United States

Place	2024
California	20,791
United States	17,619

Rankings

US states by public school current spending per pupil 51 places

Definition

Current spending of public elementary and secondary school systems divided by their fall enrollment, in US dollars, from the U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of School System Finances (Table 8). Current spending is instruction plus support services such as administration, transport and food services; it leaves out capital outlay, debt interest, payments to other school systems, and adult education and other programs outside kindergarten to grade 12. The year is the fiscal year, which ends on 30 June in most states (2024 means July 2023 to June 2024).

Current dollars, not adjusted for inflation or for price differences between states. NCES publishes a similar per pupil figure from its own finance survey with a different enrollment base, so the two differ slightly.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 8: per pupil amounts for current spending of public elementary-secondary school systems by state, total. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/school-finances/data/tables.html. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 8: per pupil amounts for current spending of public elementary-secondary school systems by state, total (Public school current spending per pupil, California, 2002 to 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/school-finances/data/tables.html

MLA 9

Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 8: per pupil amounts for current spending of public elementary-secondary school systems by state, total, Public school current spending per pupil, California, 2002 to 2024. U.S. Census Bureau, 7 May 2026, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/school-finances/data/tables.html. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/public-school-spending-per-pupil/california. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 8: per pupil amounts for current spending of public elementary-secondary school systems by state, total. Public school current spending per pupil, California, 2002 to 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/school-finances/data/tables.html. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/public-school-spending-per-pupil/california.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 8: per pupil amounts for current spending of public elementary-secondary school systems by state, total, Public school current spending per pupil, California, 2002 to 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/school-finances/data/tables.html, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/public-school-spending-per-pupil/california (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_public_school_current_spending_2024,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 8: per pupil amounts for current spending of public elementary-secondary school systems by state, total: Public school current spending per pupil, California, 2002 to 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/school-finances/data/tables.html},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/public-school-spending-per-pupil/california. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 8: per pupil amounts for current spending of public elementary-secondary school systems by state, total. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/school-finances/data/tables.html. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 8: per pupil amounts for current spending of public elementary-secondary school systems by state, total: Public school current spending per pupil, California, 2002 to 2024
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/07
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/school-finances/data/tables.html
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/public-school-spending-per-pupil/california
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/public-school-spending-per-pupil/california.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 8: per pupil amounts for current spending of public elementary-secondary school systems by state, total. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/school-finances/data/tables.html. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

What is the public school current spending per pupil in California?

Public school current spending per pupil in California was $20,791 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 10.6% from 2023. That is the 14th highest of 51 states in 2024.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 8: per pupil amounts for current spending of public elementary-secondary school systems by state, total. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest public school current spending per pupil in California?

$20,791 in 2024, the highest value since 2002 in this series.

Public school current spending per pupil elsewhere in United States

Related statistics for California

All statistics for California | California in figures