K-12 Spending per Student by State [Rankings]

When it comes to state funding of public schools, it’s clear that not all states are created equal. For a variety of reasons, such as the prevalence of successful businesses or the median income in a given area, spending on K-12 students varies greatly from state to state, or even county to county. A decrease in public school funding affects student and faculty alike, as budget cuts often bring about layoffs.

Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics, StartClass has ranked each state based on K-12 spending per student. Data was reported in January 2016 and reflects the 2012-13 school year. The values reported are adjusted for the cost of living in each state, and spending data from the previous two years has been included and adjusted for inflation.

On average, each state spent $10,763 per student in 2012-13, a 3.5 percent decrease from 2010-11. Wisconsin experienced the biggest two-year drop in spending, down 10.5 percent, but the state landed outside the bottom 15 in spending per student.

#50. Utah

2012-13 spending per student: $6,991
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -4.56 percent

#49. Arizona

2012-13 spending per student: $7,421
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -7.96 percent

#48. Nevada

2012-13 spending per student: $7,431
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -8.82 percent

#47. Idaho

2012-13 spending per student: $7,512
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -5.28 percent

#46. California

2012-13 spending per student: $8,050
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -3.27 percent

#45. Colorado

2012-13 spending per student: $8,124
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -5.45 percent

#44. Mississippi

2012-13 spending per student: $8,455
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -2.13 percent

#43. North Carolina

2012-13 spending per student: $8,512
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -3.57 percent

#42. Hawaii

2012-13 spending per student: $8,635
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -5.89 percent

#41. Florida

2012-13 spending per student: $8,710
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -8.75 percent

#40. Oregon

2012-13 spending per student: $9,092
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -7.78 percent

#39. Texas

2012-13 spending per student: $9,282
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -9.1 percent

#38. Oklahoma

2012-13 spending per student: $9,421
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -0.9 percent

#37. South Dakota

2012-13 spending per student: $9,589
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -7.66 percent

#36. Washington

2012-13 spending per student: $9,618
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -3.5 percent

#35. Alabama

2012-13 spending per student: $9,641
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -3.92 percent

#34. Georgia

2012-13 spending per student: $9,703
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -5.86 percent

#33. Indiana

2012-13 spending per student: $9,814
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -2.69 percent

#32. New Mexico

2012-13 spending per student: $9,854
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -5.32 percent

#31. Wisconsin

2012-13 spending per student: $10,169
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -10.53 percent

#30. Kentucky

2012-13 spending per student: $10,191
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -3.96 percent

#29. Arkansas

2012-13 spending per student: $10,367
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -4.02 percent

#28. Kansas

2012-13 spending per student: $10,428
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -2.4 percent

#27. Montana

2012-13 spending per student: $10,556
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -4.95 percent

#26. Iowa

2012-13 spending per student: $10,609
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: +0.41 percent

#25. Missouri

2012-13 spending per student: $10,662
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -2 percent

#24. South Carolina

2012-13 spending per student: $10,732
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: +1.32 percent

#23. Minnesota

2012-13 spending per student: $10,848
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -0.93 percent

#22. Virginia

2012-13 spending per student: $10,851
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: +1.07 percent

#21. Tennessee

2012-13 spending per student: $11,010
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -1.48 percent

#20. Michigan

2012-13 spending per student: $11,068
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -5 percent

#19. West Virginia

2012-13 spending per student: $11,605
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -10.19 percent

#18. Maine

2012-13 spending per student: $11,939
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -3.84 percent

#17. Illinois

2012-13 spending per student: $11,964
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: +1.27 percent

#16. Louisiana

2012-13 spending per student: $12,114
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -6.73 percent

#15. Ohio

2012-13 spending per student: $12,257
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -5.43 percent

#14. New Hampshire

2012-13 spending per student: $12,325
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -0.9 percent

#13. North Dakota

2012-13 spending per student: $12,356
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: +1.85 percent

#12. Nebraska

2012-13 spending per student: $12,361
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -4.12 percent

#11. Delaware

2012-13 spending per student: $12,526
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: +4.65 percent

#10. Maryland

2012-13 spending per student: $13,043
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -3.48 percent

#9. Massachusetts

2012-13 spending per student: $13,095
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: +0.2 percent

#8. Rhode Island

2012-13 spending per student: $13,176
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -4.81 percent

#7. Connecticut

2012-13 spending per student: $13,427
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: +2.03 percent

#6. Pennsylvania

2012-13 spending per student: $13,581
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -1.89 percent

#5. Vermont

2012-13 spending per student: $14,526
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: +12.32 percent

#4. Wyoming

2012-13 spending per student: $14,644
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -4.44 percent

#3. New York

2012-13 spending per student: $15,139
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: -1.03 percent

#2. New Jersey

2012-13 spending per student: $15,183
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: +5.02 percent

#1. Alaska

2012-13 spending per student: $15,841
Percent change from 2010-11 to 2012-13: +4.47 percent

American K-12 Spending per Student by State

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