Nationally, public school spending per student rose 8.9% from $14,358 in FY 2021 to $15,633 in FY 2022, according to new data from the 2022 Annual Survey of School System Finances released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. This represents the largest percentage increase in public school spending per pupil in the 50 states and the District of Columbia in over 20 years. Statistics are not adjusted for inflation or cost-of-living differences between geographic areas.

The states spending the most per pupil were New York ($29,873), the District of Columbia ($27,425), New Jersey ($25,099), Vermont ($24,608), and Connecticut ($24,453). The states spending the least per pupil were Utah ($9,552), Idaho ($9,670), Arizona ($10,315), Oklahoma ($10,890), and Mississippi ($10,984).

📊 How Did COVID-19 Affect School Finances?

Explore current spending per pupil, revenues by source, total expenditures and more in our data visualization featuring data from our Annual Survey of School System Finances. 

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Spending Per Pupil in Public Schools Averaged $15,633, Up 8.9% in FY 2022 All nine states in the Northeast region ranked in the top 14 for current per pupil spending and seven were in the top 10. Sixteen of the 20 states with the lowest per pupil spending were in the South or West. Iowa, Missouri, Indiana and South Dakota were the remaining four states.

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