Expenditures per Pupil for Elementary and Secondary Public Schools (Dollars)

This indicator represents the amount that local, state, and federal governments spend on elementary and secondary education, adjusted for the size of the student body. It is calculated by dividing the current expenditures over the entire academic year for prekindergarten through grade 12 by the number of students in those grades in public schools. Current expenditures include instruction and instruction-related costs, student support services, administration, and operations and exclude funds for school construction and other capital outlays, debt service, and programs outside of public elementary and secondary education. The number of pupils enrolled in prekindergarten through grade 12 is determined during the fall of the academic year. Expenditures represent actual spending in current dollars and have not been adjusted for inflation or for the cost of living in a state, which affect the amount of goods and services that can be purchased.

Expenditure data on public elementary and secondary education are reported by the National Center for Education Statistics. They are part of the National Public Education Financial Survey and are included in the Common Core of Data, a comprehensive annual national statistical database that covers approximately 100,000 public elementary and secondary schools and 18,000 regular school districts in the 50 states, District of Columbia, Department of Defense Schools, and outlying areas. Expenditures are expressed in current dollars and their data year is the end date of the academic year. For example, data for 2014 represent costs for the 2013–14 academic year.

Data sources: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Public Education Financial Survey; U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education.