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Digest of Education Statistics
2009 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 182. Total and current expenditures per pupil in public elementary and secondary schools: Selected years, 1919-20 through 2006-07
School year Expenditure per pupil in average daily attendance Expenditure per pupil in fall enrollment1
Unadjusted dollars Constant 2007-08 dollars2 Unadjusted dollars Constant 2007-08 dollars2
Total expendi- ture3 Current expendi- ture Total expendi- ture3 Current expendi- ture Total expendi- ture3 Current expendi- ture Total expendi- ture3 Current expendi- ture Annual percent change in current expenditure
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1919-20 $64   $53 $710   $592 $48   $40 $532   $443
1929-30 108   87 1,342   1,072 90   72 1,111   888
1931-32 97   81 1,422   1,191 82   69 1,204   1,008
1933-34 76   67 1,219   1,079 65   57 1,035   917
1935-36 88   74 1,355   1,145 74   63 1,146   968
                         
1937-38 100   84 1,473   1,239 86   72 1,265   1,064
1939-40 106   88 1,602   1,335 92   76 1,388   1,157
1941-42 110   98 1,494   1,335 94   84 1,279   1,143
1943-44 125   117 1,515   1,421 105   99 1,276   1,198
1945-46 146   136 1,693   1,583 124   116 1,442   1,349
                         
1947-48 205   181 1,861   1,649 179   158 1,625   1,440
1949-50 260   210 2,327   1,880 231   187 2,065   1,669
1951-52 314   246 2,533   1,982 275   215 2,218   1,735
1953-54 351   265 2,763   2,085 312   236 2,457   1,854
1955-56 387   294 3,048   2,317 354   269 2,786   2,118
                         
1957-58 447   341 3,317   2,529 408   311 3,025   2,306
1959-60 471   375 3,394   2,703 440   350 3,170   2,525
1961-62 517   419 3,642   2,951 485   393 3,418   2,769
1963-64 559   460 3,835   3,160 520   428 3,569   2,941
1965-66 654   538 4,338   3,567 607   499 4,027   3,312
                         
1967-68 786   658 4,896   4,098 732   612 4,554   3,812
1969-70 955   816 5,352   4,573 879   751 4,927   4,210
1970-71 1,049   911 5,593   4,856 970   842 5,170   4,489 6.6
1971-72 1,128   990 5,802   5,091 1,034   908 5,321   4,670 4.0
1972-73 1,211   1,077 5,987   5,326 1,117   993 5,522   4,913 5.2
                         
1973-74 1,364   1,207 6,193   5,481 1,244   1,101 5,647   4,998 1.7
1974-75 1,545   1,365 6,314   5,578 1,423   1,257 5,817   5,138 2.8
1975-76 1,697   1,504 6,479   5,740 1,563   1,385 5,966   5,285 2.9
1976-77 1,816   1,638 6,551   5,907 1,674   1,509 6,037   5,443 3.0
1977-78 2,002   1,823 6,768   6,161 1,842   1,677 6,225   5,667 4.1
                         
1978-79 2,210   2,020 6,830   6,244 2,029   1,855 6,272   5,734 1.2
1979-80 2,491   2,272 6,792   6,195 2,290   2,088 6,244   5,695 -0.7
1980-81 2,742 4  2,502 6,702 4  6,114 2,529 4  2,307 6,182 4  5,639 -1.0
1981-82 2,973 4  2,726 6,689 4  6,132 2,754 4  2,525 6,196 4  5,680 0.7
1982-83 3,203 4  2,955 6,909 4  6,374 2,966 4  2,736 6,398 4  5,902 3.9
                         
1983-84 3,471 4  3,173 7,220 4  6,600 3,216 4  2,940 6,689 4  6,115 3.6
1984-85 3,722 4  3,470 7,450 4  6,946 3,456 4  3,222 6,917 4  6,450 5.5
1985-86 4,020 4  3,756 7,821 4  7,306 3,724 4  3,479 7,245 4  6,769 5.0
1986-87 4,308 4  3,970 8,199 4  7,557 3,995 4  3,682 7,603 4  7,007 3.5
1987-88 4,654 4  4,240 8,505 4  7,749 4,310 4  3,927 7,877 4  7,176 2.4
                         
1988-89 5,108   4,645 8,922   8,114 4,737   4,307 8,274   7,524 4.8
1989-90 5,547   4,980 9,248   8,303 5,172   4,643 8,623   7,741 2.9
1990-91 5,882   5,258 9,298   8,312 5,484   4,902 8,669   7,749 0.1
1991-92 6,072   5,421 9,301   8,304 5,626   5,023 8,618   7,694 -0.7
1992-93 6,279   5,584 9,327   8,294 5,802   5,160 8,619   7,664 -0.4
                         
1993-94 6,489   5,767 9,395   8,350 5,994   5,327 8,678   7,713 0.6
1994-95 6,723   5,989 9,463   8,430 6,206   5,529 8,735   7,782 0.9
1995-96. 6,959   6,147 9,536   8,423 6,441   5,689 8,826   7,796 0.2
1996-97 7,297   6,393 9,722   8,517 6,761   5,923 9,008   7,891 1.2
1997-98 7,701   6,676 10,079   8,738 7,139   6,189 9,345   8,101 2.7
                         
1998-99 8,115   7,013 10,441   9,023 7,531   6,508 9,689   8,373 3.4
1999-2000 8,589   7,394 10,741   9,246 8,030   6,912 10,041   8,644 3.2
2000-01. 9,180   7,904 11,099   9,556 8,572   7,380 10,364   8,923 3.2
2001-02 9,611   8,259 11,419   9,812 8,993   7,727 10,684   9,181 2.9
2002-03 9,950   8,610 11,567   10,009 9,296   8,044 10,807   9,351 1.9
                         
2003-04 10,308   8,900 11,726   10,125 9,625   8,310 10,950   9,454 1.1
2004-05 10,779   9,316 11,904   10,288 10,078   8,711 11,130   9,620 1.8
2005-06 11,338   9,778 12,062   10,403 10,603   9,145 11,280   9,729 1.1
2006-07 12,018   10,337 12,463   10,720 11,257   9,683 11,674   10,041 3.2
—Not available.
1 Data for 1919-20 to 1953-54 are based on school-year enrollment.
2 Constant 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.
3 Excludes "Other current expenditures," such as community services, private school programs, adult education, and other programs not allocable to expenditures per student at public schools.
4 Estimated.
NOTE: Beginning in 1980-81, state administration expenditures are excluded from both "total" and "current" expenditures. Current expenditures include instruction, student support services, food services, and enterprise operations. Total expenditures include current expenditures, capital outlay, and interest on debt. Beginning in 1988-89, extensive changes were made in the data collection procedures. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Biennial Survey of Education in the United States, 1919-20 through 1955-56; Statistics of State School Systems, 1957-58 through 1969-70; Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education, 1970-71 through 1986-87; and Common Core of Data (CCD), "National Public Education Financial Survey," 1987-88 through 2006-07. (This table was prepared May 2009.)

2009 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest