Data / Public school current spending per pupil / Tennessee

Public school current spending per pupil in Tennessee

Public school current spending per pupil in Tennessee was $12,882 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 5.6% from 2023. That is the 44th highest of 51 states in 2024.

2024, USD12,882
Change on 2023+5.6%
Rank44th of 51US states ranked
Series high12,8822024
Series low5,9842002

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

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

4,0006,0008,00010K12K14K2002200620102014201820242002: 5,984 USD2003: 6,201 USD2004: 6,504 USD2005: 6,729 USD2006: 6,883 USD2007: 7,113 USD2008: 7,739 USD2009: 7,897 USD2010: 8,065 USD2011: 8,088 USD2012: 8,294 USD2013: 8,496 USD2014: 8,630 USD2015: 8,723 USD2016: 8,810 USD2017: 9,184 USD2018: 9,544 USD2019: 9,868 USD2020: 9,896 USD2021: 10,507 USD2022: 11,317 USD2023: 12,197 USD2024: 12,882 USD4,0006,0008,00010K12K14K20022010201820242002: 5,984 USD2003: 6,201 USD2004: 6,504 USD2005: 6,729 USD2006: 6,883 USD2007: 7,113 USD2008: 7,739 USD2009: 7,897 USD2010: 8,065 USD2011: 8,088 USD2012: 8,294 USD2013: 8,496 USD2014: 8,630 USD2015: 8,723 USD2016: 8,810 USD2017: 9,184 USD2018: 9,544 USD2019: 9,868 USD2020: 9,896 USD2021: 10,507 USD2022: 11,317 USD2023: 12,197 USD2024: 12,882 USD
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
PeriodUSD
202412,882
202312,197
202211,317
202110,507
20209,896
20199,868
20189,544
20179,184
20168,810
20158,723
20148,630
20138,496
20128,294
20118,088
20108,065
20097,897
20087,739
20077,113
20066,883
20056,729
20046,504
20036,201
20025,984

Compared with United States

Place2024
Tennessee12,882
United States17,619

Tennessee compared with nearby places

Alabama: 13,627 USDAlaska: 21,004 USDArizona: 12,003 USDArkansas: 13,873 USDCalifornia: 20,791 USDColorado: 15,908 USDConnecticut: 26,316 USDDelaware: 22,201 USDDistrict of Columbia: 31,529 USDFlorida: 12,693 USDGeorgia: 15,833 USDHawaii: 23,878 USDIdaho: 11,060 USDIllinois: 21,776 USDIndiana: 13,622 USDIowa: 14,369 USDKansas: 15,558 USDKentucky: 14,596 USDLouisiana: 15,581 USDMaine: 19,962 USDMaryland: 20,208 USDMassachusetts: 24,429 USDMichigan: 18,314 USDMinnesota: 17,098 USDMississippi: 12,324 USDMissouri: 14,241 USDMontana: 13,656 USDNebraska: 16,147 USDNevada: 14,812 USDNew Hampshire: 22,978 USDNew Jersey: 27,234 USDNew Mexico: 17,664 USDNew York: 31,918 USDNorth Carolina: 12,995 USDNorth Dakota: 17,102 USDOhio: 17,257 USDOklahoma: 12,162 USDOregon: 18,083 USDPennsylvania: 21,091 USDRhode Island: 22,110 USDSouth Carolina: 15,060 USDSouth Dakota: 12,828 USDTennessee: 12,882 USDTexas: 12,895 USDUtah: 11,347 USDVermont: 28,818 USDVirginia: 17,104 USDWashington: 18,564 USDWest Virginia: 15,640 USDWisconsin: 15,952 USDWyoming: 20,521 USD
  • Under 13K
  • 13K to 15K
  • 15K to 16K
  • 16K to 19K
  • 19K to 22K
  • 22K and over
Public school current spending per pupil, 2024, USD. Tennessee is outlined. Same source and period for every area shown. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Rankings

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).

More on how it is measured
  • 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.

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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, Tennessee, 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, Tennessee, 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/tennessee. 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, Tennessee, 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/tennessee.

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, Tennessee, 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/tennessee (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, Tennessee, 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/tennessee. 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, Tennessee, 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/tennessee
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/public-school-spending-per-pupil/tennessee.
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 Tennessee?

Public school current spending per pupil in Tennessee was $12,882 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 5.6% from 2023. That is the 44th 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 Tennessee?

$12,882 in 2024, the highest value since 2002 in this series.

Public school current spending per pupil elsewhere in United States

Related statistics for Tennessee

All statistics for Tennessee | Tennessee in figures