Expenditures

Question:
How much money does the United States spend on public elementary and secondary schools?

Response:
School districts had total expenditures of approximately $610.1 billion in 2008�, including about $519.0 billion in current expenditures for public elementary and secondary education. Of the remaining expenditures, nearly $65.9 billion was spent on capital outlay, almost $16.7 billion on interest payments on debt, and $8.5 billion on other programs (including programs such as community services and adult education, which are not a part of public elementary and secondary education).

After adjustment for inflation, current expenditures per student in fall enrollment at public schools rose during the 1980s, remained stable during the first part of the 1990s, and then rose again. There was an increase of 37 percent from 1980� to 1990�; a change of less than 1 percent from 1990� to 1994� (which resulted from small decreases at the beginning of this period, followed by small increases after 1992�); and an increase of 34 percent from 1994� to 2008�. In 2008�, current expenditures per student in fall enrollment were $10,591 in unadjusted dollars. In 2007�, some 55 percent of students in public schools were transported at public expense at a cost of $854 per pupil transported, also in unadjusted dollars.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). Digest of Education Statistics, 2011 (NCES 2012-001), Table 191 and Chapter 2 .

¹Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index, prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis.
² Revised from previously published figures.

NOTE: Beginning in 1980-81, state administration expenditures are excluded from "current" expenditures. Current expenditures include instruction, student support services, food services and enterprise operations. Beginning in 1988-89, extensive changes were made in the data collection procedures.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). Digest of Education Statistics, 2011 (NCES 2012-001), Table 191.

Related Tables and Figures:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 184. Students transported at public expense and current expenditures for transportation: Selected years, 1929-30 through 2008-09
  
• 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 185. Current expenditures for public elementary and secondary education, by state or jurisdiction: Selected years, 1969-70 through 2008-09
  
• 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 186. Total expenditures for public elementary and secondary education, by function and state or jurisdiction: 2008-09
  
• 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 188. Total expenditures for public elementary and secondary education, by function and subfunction: Selected years, 1990-91 through 2008-09
  
• 2012, The Condition of Education 2012: Education Expenditures by Country
  
• 2012, The Condition of Education 2012: Public School Expenditures
  
• 2012, The Condition of Education 2012: Variations in Instruction Expenditures
  
• 2010, The Condition of Education 2010: Public School Expenditures by District Poverty
  

Other Resources:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2011, Projections of Education Statistics to 2020
  
• 2010, Education Finance Statistics Center (EDFIN): This site provides access to finance information on public elementary/secondary education.
  
• 2010, International Activities Program: This site reports on the state of education in the United States and other nations.
  
• 2009, Common Core of Data (CCD) District Fiscal Reports: These reports contain data on revenues and expenditures per pupil made by school districts.
  
• 2009, Common Core of Data (CCD) State Fiscal Reports: These reports contain state totals of revenues and expenditures. This includes revenues by source and expenditures by function and object, and current expenditures per pupil and instructional expenditures.