Data / Public school current spending per pupil / United States

Public school current spending per pupil in United States

Public school current spending per pupil in the United States was $17,619 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 6.6% from 2023.

2024, USD17,619
Change on 2023+6.6%
Series high17,6192024
Series low7,7012002

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 United States, 2002 to 2024

6,0008,00010K12K14K16K18K2002200620102014201820242002: 7,701 USD2003: 8,019 USD2004: 8,287 USD2005: 8,701 USD2006: 9,138 USD2007: 9,666 USD2008: 10,259 USD2009: 10,499 USD2010: 10,600 USD2011: 10,608 USD2012: 10,608 USD2013: 10,724 USD2014: 11,003 USD2015: 11,392 USD2016: 11,763 USD2017: 12,201 USD2018: 12,559 USD2019: 13,187 USD2020: 13,501 USD2021: 14,358 USD2022: 15,630 USD2023: 16,526 USD2024: 17,619 USD7,50010K12.5K15K17.5K20K20022010201820242002: 7,701 USD2003: 8,019 USD2004: 8,287 USD2005: 8,701 USD2006: 9,138 USD2007: 9,666 USD2008: 10,259 USD2009: 10,499 USD2010: 10,600 USD2011: 10,608 USD2012: 10,608 USD2013: 10,724 USD2014: 11,003 USD2015: 11,392 USD2016: 11,763 USD2017: 12,201 USD2018: 12,559 USD2019: 13,187 USD2020: 13,501 USD2021: 14,358 USD2022: 15,630 USD2023: 16,526 USD2024: 17,619 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
202417,619
202316,526
202215,630
202114,358
202013,501
201913,187
201812,559
201712,201
201611,763
201511,392
201411,003
201310,724
201210,608
201110,608
201010,600
200910,499
200810,259
20079,666
20069,138
20058,701
20048,287
20038,019
20027,701

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, United States, 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, United States, 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/united-states. 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, United States, 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/united-states.

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

Public school current spending per pupil in the United States was $17,619 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 6.6% from 2023.

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 United States?

$17,619 in 2024, the highest value since 2002 in this series.

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