US states by consumer spending on education services

California had the highest consumer spending on education services of 51 states in 2018, at $38.9 billion. Wyoming had the lowest, at $405.6 million. The median was $3.18 billion and the figure for the United States was $285.65 billion. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Highest38,896.7California

Lowest405.6Wyoming

Median3,175.251 states

United States285,651.3History

Map of states, 2018

Under 1,100
1,100 to 1,900
1,900 to 3,200
3,200 to 5,400
5,400 to 8,700
8,700 and over

USD million, 2018. 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, 2018

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	2018 USD million	Change on 2017
1	California	38,896.7	+3.7%
2	Texas	22,150.7	+2.6%
3	New York	19,132.4	+2.5%
4	Illinois	15,019	+3%
5	Pennsylvania	13,491.8	+2.7%
6	New Jersey	13,081.7	+2.4%
7	Florida	12,941.9	+5.3%
8	Ohio	9,631.7	+2.1%
9	Michigan	8,737.7	+2.8%
10	Massachusetts	8,676.9	+2.3%
11	Virginia	8,594.9	+2%
12	Georgia	7,948.6	+3.5%
13	North Carolina	7,350.1	+3.7%
14	Maryland	6,632	+2%
15	Washington	5,780	+3.5%
16	Tennessee	5,643.4	+4.1%
17	Minnesota	5,626.2	+2.9%
18	Arizona	5,343.3	+3.2%
19	Connecticut	5,128.1	+2.1%
20	Colorado	5,048.8	+4%
21	Indiana	4,594.9	+1.7%
22	Wisconsin	4,542.2	+3.1%
23	Missouri	4,526.1	+2%
24	South Carolina	3,990.3	+2.6%
25	Alabama	3,458.1	+2.3%
26	Louisiana	3,175.2	+2.7%
27	Kentucky	3,004.2	+3%
28	Oregon	2,948.6	+3%
29	Oklahoma	2,488.8	+2.9%
30	Kansas	2,368.1	+3.2%
31	Iowa	2,143.5	+2.9%
32	Nevada	2,088.1	+4.2%
33	New Hampshire	1,935.8	+1.9%
34	Mississippi	1,881.5	+1.6%
35	Arkansas	1,851.6	+2.3%
36	Utah	1,848.6	+2.9%
37	New Mexico	1,411.3	+2.2%
38	Nebraska	1,406	+3.2%
39	Hawaii	1,278.1	+2.1%
40	Maine	1,183.7	+2.1%
41	Rhode Island	1,163.8	+3%
42	Delaware	1,142.2	+1.9%
43	Idaho	1,085.2	+3.3%
44	West Virginia	1,012.8	+2.6%
45	District of Columbia	740.5	+3%
46	Vermont	730.6	+2.9%
47	Alaska	666.5	+2.6%
48	Montana	630.5	+3.2%
49	South Dakota	560.9	+2.8%
50	North Dakota	531.8	+2.8%
51	Wyoming	405.6	+0.6%

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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/SAPCE.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/consumer-spending-education/us-states?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{bureau_us_states_by_consumer_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/consumer-spending-education/us-states?period=2018.
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 $38.9 billion in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Which state has the lowest consumer spending on education services?

Wyoming, with $405.6 million in 2018.

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.