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