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Digest of Education Statistics
2011 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 29. Expenditures of educational institutions, by level and control of institution: Selected years, 1899-1900 through 2010-11
  [In millions]
School year Current dollars Constant 2009-10 dollars1
Total Elementary and secondary schools Postsecondary degree-granting institutions Total Elementary and secondary schools Postsecond-ary degree-granting institutions
Total Public Private2 Total Public Private Total Public
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1899-1900 $215        
1909-10 426        
1919-20 1,036       $11,784  
1929-30 2,317 $632 3  $292 3  $341 3  29,335 $8,006 3 
1939-40 2,344 758 3  392 3  367 3  36,353 11,763 3 
1949-50 $8,494 $6,249 5,838 $411 2,246   1,154   1,092   $77,736 $57,184 53,423 20,551  
1959-60 22,314 16,713 15,613 1,100 5,601   3,131   2,470   164,593 123,280 115,167 41,312  
                               
1969-70 64,227 43,183 40,683 2,500 21,043   13,250   7,794   368,501 247,766 233,422 120,735  
1970-71 71,575 48,200 45,500 2,700 23,375   14,996   8,379   390,505 262,973 248,242 127,532  
1971-72 76,510 50,950 48,050 2,900 25,560   16,484   9,075   402,974 268,353 253,078 134,621  
1972-73 82,908 54,952 51,852 3,100 27,956   18,204   9,752   419,759 278,221 262,526 141,538  
1973-74 91,084 60,370 56,970 3,400 30,714   20,336   10,377   423,401 280,630 264,825 142,771  
                               
1974-75 103,903 68,846 64,846 4,000 35,058   23,490   11,568   434,807 288,101 271,362 146,706  
1975-76 114,004 75,101 70,601 4,500 38,903   26,184   12,719   445,537 293,500 275,914 152,037  
1976-77 121,793 79,194 74,194 5,000 42,600   28,635   13,965   449,753 292,443 273,979 157,311  
1977-78 132,515 86,544 80,844 5,700 45,971   30,725   15,246   458,555 299,478 279,754 159,077  
1978-79 143,733 93,012 86,712 6,300 50,721   33,733   16,988   454,772 294,290 274,357 160,482  
                               
1979-80 160,075 103,162 95,962 7,200 56,914   37,768   19,146   446,896 288,005 267,904 158,891  
1980-81 176,378 112,325 104,125 8,200 64,053   42,280   21,773   441,296 281,036 260,520 160,260  
1981-82 190,825 120,486 111,186 9,300 70,339   46,219   24,120   439,480 277,485 256,066 161,995  
1982-83 204,661 128,725 118,425 10,300 75,936   49,573   26,363   451,932 284,251 261,506 167,681  
1983-84 220,993 139,000 127,500 11,500 81,993   53,087   28,907   470,580 295,984 271,496 174,595  
                               
1984-85 239,351 149,400 137,000 12,400 89,951   58,315   31,637   490,472 306,147 280,737 184,326  
1985-86 259,336 161,800 148,600 13,200 97,536   63,194   34,342   516,529 322,263 295,972 194,266  
1986-87 280,964 175,200 160,900 14,300 105,764   67,654   38,110   547,451 341,373 313,510 206,078  
1987-88 301,786 187,999 172,699 15,300 113,787   72,641   41,145   564,628 351,737 323,112 212,891  
1988-89 333,245 209,377 192,977 16,400 123,867   78,946   44,922   595,962 374,442 345,113 221,519  
                               
1989-90 365,825 231,170 212,770 18,400 134,656   85,771   48,885   624,431 394,586 363,179 229,845  
1990-91 395,318 249,230 229,430 19,800 146,088   92,961   53,127   639,793 403,360 371,315 236,433  
1991-92 417,944 261,755 241,055 20,700 156,189   98,847   57,342   655,411 410,479 378,017 244,933  
1992-93 439,676 274,435 252,935 21,500 165,241   104,570   60,671   668,607 417,328 384,633 251,279  
1993-94 460,757 287,407 265,307 22,100 173,351   109,310   64,041   682,973 426,018 393,260 256,955  
                               
1994-95 485,169 302,200 279,000 23,200 182,969   115,465   67,504   699,119 435,465 402,034 263,654  
1995-96 508,523 318,046 293,646 24,400 190,476   119,525   70,952   713,363 446,161 411,932 267,203  
1996-97 538,854 338,951 313,151 25,800 199,903 2  125,978   73,925 2  734,944 462,296 427,107 272,648 2 
1997-98 570,471 361,615 334,315 27,300 208,856 2  132,846   76,010 2  764,434 484,566 447,984 279,868 2 
1998-99 603,847 384,638 355,838 28,800 219,209   140,539   78,670   795,388 506,646 468,710 288,742  
                               
1999-2000 649,322 412,538 381,838 30,700 236,784   152,325   84,459   831,291 528,149 488,846 303,141  
2000-01 705,017 444,811 410,811 34,000 260,206   170,345   89,861   872,694 550,603 508,516 322,092  
2001-02 752,780 472,064 435,364 36,700 280,715   183,436   97,280   915,606 574,172 529,534 341,434  
2002-03 795,691 492,807 454,907 37,900 302,884   197,026   105,858   946,988 586,512 541,405 360,476  
2003-04 830,293 513,542 474,242 39,300 316,751   205,069   111,682   967,013 598,104 552,333 368,909  
                               
2004-05 875,988 540,969 499,569 41,400 335,019   215,794   119,225   990,428 611,642 564,833 378,787  
2005-06 925,712 572,135 528,735 43,400 353,577   226,550   127,027   1,008,252 623,149 575,879 385,103  
2006-07 984,034 608,495 562,195 46,300 375,539   238,829   136,710   1,044,757 646,044 596,887 398,713  
2007-08 1,054,200 645,710 596,610 49,100 408,490   261,046   147,444   1,079,263 661,061 610,794 418,201  
2008-09 1,089,854 659,110 610,110 49,000 430,744   273,030   157,714   1,100,399 665,487 616,013 434,912  
                               
2009-104 1,108,483 662,000 614,000 48,000 446,483   281,368   165,115   1,108,483 662,000 614,000 446,483  
2010-112 1,133,000 673,000 626,000 47,000 460,000   288,000   172,000   1,111,000 660,000 614,000 451,000  
—Not available.
1 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.
2 Estimated.
3 Data include current-fund expenditures and additions to plant value.
4 Data for elementary and secondary education are estimated; data for degree-granting institutions are actual.
NOTE: Total expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools include current expenditures, interest on school debt, and capital outlay. Public and private degree-granting institutions data for 1929-30 through 1995-96 are for current-fund expenditures, except where noted. Data for private degree-granting institutions for 1996-97 and later years are for total expenditures. Data for public degree-granting institutions for 1996-97 through 2000-01 are for current expenditures; data for later years are for total expenditures. Postsecondary data through 1995-96 are for institutions of higher education, while later data are for degree-granting institutions. Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. The degree-granting classification is very similar to the earlier higher education classification, but it includes more 2-year colleges and excludes a few higher education institutions that did not grant degrees. (See Appendix A: Guide to Sources for details.) Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Annual Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1899-1900 and 1909-10; Biennial Survey of Education in the United States, 1919-20 through 1949-50; Statistics of State School Systems, 1951-52 through 1969-70; Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education, 1970-71 through 1986-87; Common Core of Data (CCD), "National Public Education Financial Survey," 1987-88 through 2008-09; Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), Financial Statistics of Institutions of Higher Education, 1965-66 through 1985-86; Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), "Finance Survey," (IPEDS-F:FY87-99); IPEDS Spring 2001 through Spring 2011, Finance component; and unpublished tabulations. (This table was prepared November 2011.)

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