US states by consumer spending on education services

California had the highest consumer spending on education services of 51 states in 2015, at $34.79 billion. Wyoming had the lowest, at $397 million. The median was $2.85 billion and the figure for the United States was $261.4 billion. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Highest34,789.5California

Lowest397Wyoming

Median2,847.351 states

United States261,403History

Map of states, 2015

Under 1,000
1,000 to 1,800
1,800 to 2,800
2,800 to 4,900
4,900 to 8,200
8,200 and over

USD million, 2015. Source: BEA, SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, education services (line 100), millions of current dollars, United States and states. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2015

USD million. Source: BEA, SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, education services (line 100), millions of current dollars, United States and states. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	States	2015 USD million	Change on 2014
1	California	34,789.5	+3.6%
2	Texas	19,942	+5.7%
3	New York	17,827.1	+3.7%
4	Illinois	13,845.3	+3.4%
5	Pennsylvania	12,648.5	+2.1%
6	New Jersey	12,232	+2.2%
7	Florida	11,585.6	+3%
8	Ohio	9,023.8	+2.3%
9	Michigan	8,245.6	+1.2%
10	Massachusetts	7,987.1	+3%
11	Virginia	7,864.3	+4.3%
12	Georgia	7,269.2	+3.3%
13	North Carolina	6,690.7	+2.1%
14	Maryland	6,020.8	+4.7%
15	Washington	5,197.5	+4.1%
16	Minnesota	5,034.9	+3.3%
17	Arizona	4,927.7	-0.8%
18	Tennessee	4,889.2	+6.5%
19	Connecticut	4,748.6	+3.2%
20	Colorado	4,564.6	+5.5%
21	Indiana	4,506.1	-0.4%
22	Missouri	4,247.9	+2.2%
23	Wisconsin	4,218.5	+0.9%
24	South Carolina	3,681.5	+3.9%
25	Alabama	3,177.3	+4%
26	Louisiana	2,847.3	+5.4%
27	Kentucky	2,801.4	+2.9%
28	Oregon	2,590.9	+5.8%
29	Oklahoma	2,293.1	+3.8%
30	Kansas	2,199.5	+3%
31	Iowa	2,009.2	+0.9%
32	Mississippi	1,789.9	+1%
33	New Hampshire	1,781.1	+3.6%
34	Nevada	1,767.9	+3.6%
35	Arkansas	1,718.4	+3.2%
36	Utah	1,625.1	+5.3%
37	Nebraska	1,278.6	+3%
38	New Mexico	1,265.5	+6.1%
39	Hawaii	1,172.8	+4.6%
40	Maine	1,104.9	+2.1%
41	Rhode Island	1,077.1	+2%
42	Delaware	1,065.3	+2.5%
43	Idaho	967.7	+3.5%
44	West Virginia	916.7	+5.6%
45	District of Columbia	690.3	-2.9%
46	Vermont	684.4	+2%
47	Alaska	617.1	+2.7%
48	Montana	587.4	+2.5%
49	South Dakota	514.3	+0.7%
50	North Dakota	474.9	+4.2%
51	Wyoming	397	+1.6%

Other periods

About this ranking

Personal consumption expenditures on higher education, private nursery, elementary and secondary schools, and commercial and vocational schools, by the households and nonprofit institutions serving households resident in the place, in millions of current US dollars. Bureau of Economic Analysis, PCE by state by type of product (table SAPCE3, line 100, Education services); the national figure equals the national accounts (NIPA table 2.4.5).

Public schools paid for by government are not consumer spending; this covers tuition paid by or for households and the net costs of nonprofit colleges and schools. Millions of current US dollars: not adjusted for inflation or for price differences between states (see regional_price_parity). Spending is assigned to the state where the buyer lives, wherever the purchase is made. It includes purchases paid on behalf of households by employers, insurers and government programs, and the spending of nonprofit institutions serving households. Not the same as retail sales, which count store sales where the store is, and not the PCE price index. BEA revises the latest years every September.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, education services (line 100), millions of current dollars, United States and states. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip. 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. Bureau of Economic Analysis. (2026). SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, education services (line 100), millions of current dollars, United States and states (US states by consumer spending on education services, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip

MLA 9

SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, education services (line 100), millions of current dollars, United States and states, US states by consumer spending on education services, 2015. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 30 Sept. 2026, https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/consumer-spending-education/us-states?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2026. SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, education services (line 100), millions of current dollars, United States and states. US states by consumer spending on education services, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/consumer-spending-education/us-states?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (2026) SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, education services (line 100), millions of current dollars, United States and states, US states by consumer spending on education services, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/consumer-spending-education/us-states?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{bureau_us_states_by_consumer_2015,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis}},
  title = {{SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, education services (line 100), millions of current dollars, United States and states: US states by consumer spending on education services, 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/consumer-spending-education/us-states?period=2015. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, education services (line 100), millions of current dollars, United States and states. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

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AU  - U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
TI  - SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, education services (line 100), millions of current dollars, United States and states: US states by consumer spending on education services, 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/consumer-spending-education/us-states?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/consumer-spending-education/us-states?period=2015.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, education services (line 100), millions of current dollars, United States and states. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which state has the highest consumer spending on education services?

California, with $34.79 billion in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Which state has the lowest consumer spending on education services?

Wyoming, with $397 million in 2015.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, SAPCE3: personal consumption expenditures by state by type of product, education services (line 100), millions of current dollars, United States and states. Retrieved 2026-10-12.