Which states get the most state-level school funding?
- Updated
With all the talk about school vouchers, this might be of interest. Sadly, Arizona doesn't rank well in this list, which uses 2014 data.
- Alison O'Brien, StartClass.com; Data work by Tarush Mohanti
- Updated
Public K-12 education has always been a contentious topic among political parties. Federal funding, the Common Core State Standards Initiative and more recently, voucher-like tax programs for private institutions are just a few of the issues debated when it comes to educational reform in our country.
Public elementary and secondary schools in the United States are funded through a combination of federal, state and local contributions, although the latter two constitute the majority of each state's educational funding. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, state and local funds make up about 44 percent each of the total school funding, with federal contributions at around 12 percent.
Each state's legislature follows their own rhyme and reason for the amount of funding designated towards public schools, and as a result some states have more school funding than others.
Experts at StartClass, an education data site powered by Graphiq, collected 2014 data (latest report) from the NCES Common Core of Data to rank states by state-level revenue per student in K-12 schools. Also included are the average high-school graduation rate, total number of students attending K-12 schools in the state and the student-teacher ratio.
The states with the most revenue per student often have lower student-teacher ratios. Although the revenue per student in no way reflects the quality of the education in a particular state, it is interesting to consider as a parent or student looking to find the best educational opportunity.
Compiled by Alison O'Brien, StartClass.com; Data work by Tarush Mohanti
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $7,364
Number of students: 296,476
Student-Teacher Ratio: 18:1
Graduation Rate: 78%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $7,843
Number of students: 625,461
Student-Teacher Ratio: 23:1
Graduation Rate: 84%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $8,573
Number of students: 1,530,857
Student-Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Graduation Rate: 85%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $8,703
Number of students: 1,102,445
Student-Teacher Ratio: 23:1
Graduation Rate: 77%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $8,918
Number of students: 681,848
Student-Teacher Ratio: 16:1
Graduation Rate: 82%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $8,994
Number of students: 492,586
Student-Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Graduation Rate: 75%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $9,384
Number of students: 993,556
Student-Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Graduation Rate: 87%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $9,518
Number of students: 2,720,744
Student-Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Graduation Rate: 77%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $9,609
Number of students: 451,831
Student-Teacher Ratio: 21:1
Graduation Rate: 71%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $9,913
Number of students: 746,204
Student-Teacher Ratio: 17:1
Graduation Rate: 89%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $10,321
Number of students: 130,890
Student-Teacher Ratio: 13:1
Graduation Rate: 83%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $10,357
Number of students: 5,153,702
Student-Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Graduation Rate: 88%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $10,377
Number of students: 1,723,909
Student-Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Graduation Rate: 78%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $10,478
Number of students: 489,979
Student-Teacher Ratio: 13:1
Graduation Rate: 84%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $10,536
Number of students: 677,389
Student-Teacher Ratio: 16:1
Graduation Rate: 88%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $10,538
Number of students: 876,999
Student-Teacher Ratio: 17:1
Graduation Rate: 77%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $10,985
Number of students: 6,312,623
Student-Teacher Ratio: 23:1
Graduation Rate: 81%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $11,141
Number of students: 339,244
Student-Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Graduation Rate: 68%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $11,380
Number of students: 918,288
Student-Teacher Ratio: 13:1
Graduation Rate: 87%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $11,513
Number of students: 1,047,385
Student-Teacher Ratio: 18:1
Graduation Rate: 87%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $11,588
Number of students: 745,657
Student-Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Graduation Rate: 80%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $11,679
Number of students: 567,098
Student-Teacher Ratio: 21:1
Graduation Rate: 73%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $11,814
Number of students: 1,273,825
Student-Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Graduation Rate: 85%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $11,956
Number of students: 144,129
Student-Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Graduation Rate: 86%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $12,192
Number of students: 1,548,841
Student-Teacher Ratio: 18:1
Graduation Rate: 79%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $12,213
Number of students: 1,058,936
Student-Teacher Ratio: 18:1
Graduation Rate: 78%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $12,217
Number of students: 496,440
Student-Teacher Ratio: 13:1
Graduation Rate: 85%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $12,275
Number of students: 711,491
Student-Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Graduation Rate: 75%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $12,359
Number of students: 502,964
Student-Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Graduation Rate: 90%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $12,558
Number of students: 874,414
Student-Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Graduation Rate: 88%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $12,679
Number of students: 280,958
Student-Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Graduation Rate: 86%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $12,776
Number of students: 307,677
Student-Teacher Ratio: 13:1
Graduation Rate: 88%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $13,189
Number of students: 2,065,411
Student-Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Graduation Rate: 85%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $13,620
Number of students: 850,973
Student-Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Graduation Rate: 81%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $13,627
Number of students: 1,724,111
Student-Teacher Ratio: 16:1
Graduation Rate: 80%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $14,434
Number of students: 186,825
Student-Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Graduation Rate: 81%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $14,449
Number of students: 103,947
Student-Teacher Ratio: 11:1
Graduation Rate: 86%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $14,517
Number of students: 183,995
Student-Teacher Ratio: 12:1
Graduation Rate: 87%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $14,960
Number of students: 131,687
Student-Teacher Ratio: 13:1
Graduation Rate: 85%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $15,810
Number of students: 186,310
Student-Teacher Ratio: 12:1
Graduation Rate: 88%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $15,987
Number of students: 866,169
Student-Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Graduation Rate: 87%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $16,013
Number of students: 1,755,236
Student-Teacher Ratio: 14:1
Graduation Rate: 84%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $16,810
Number of students: 142,008
Student-Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Graduation Rate: 83%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $17,591
Number of students: 955,739
Student-Teacher Ratio: 13:1
Graduation Rate: 87%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $19,214
Number of students: 92,218
Student-Teacher Ratio: 12:1
Graduation Rate: 79%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $19,237
Number of students: 88,690
Student-Teacher Ratio: 10:1
Graduation Rate: 87%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $19,969
Number of students: 1,370,295
Student-Teacher Ratio: 12:1
Graduation Rate: 89%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $20,172
Number of students: 546,200
Student-Teacher Ratio: 12:1
Graduation Rate: 87%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $20,447
Number of students: 130,944
Student-Teacher Ratio: 16:1
Graduation Rate: 75%
- Updated
Revenue per student (annual state-level collection): $22,271
Number of students: 2,732,770
Student-Teacher Ratio: 13:1
Graduation Rate: 79%
- Alison O'Brien, StartClass.com; Data work by Tarush Mohanti
Public K-12 education has always been a contentious topic among political parties. Federal funding, the Common Core State Standards Initiative and more recently, voucher-like tax programs for private institutions are just a few of the issues debated when it comes to educational reform in our country.
Public elementary and secondary schools in the United States are funded through a combination of federal, state and local contributions, although the latter two constitute the majority of each state's educational funding. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, state and local funds make up about 44 percent each of the total school funding, with federal contributions at around 12 percent.
Each state's legislature follows their own rhyme and reason for the amount of funding designated towards public schools, and as a result some states have more school funding than others.
Experts at StartClass, an education data site powered by Graphiq, collected 2014 data (latest report) from the NCES Common Core of Data to rank states by state-level revenue per student in K-12 schools. Also included are the average high-school graduation rate, total number of students attending K-12 schools in the state and the student-teacher ratio.
The states with the most revenue per student often have lower student-teacher ratios. Although the revenue per student in no way reflects the quality of the education in a particular state, it is interesting to consider as a parent or student looking to find the best educational opportunity.
Compiled by Alison O'Brien, StartClass.com; Data work by Tarush Mohanti
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