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Digest of Education Statistics
2012 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 213. Total and current expenditures per pupil in public elementary and secondary schools: Selected years, 1919-20 through 2009-10
School year Expenditure per pupil in average daily attendance Expenditure per pupil in fall enrollment1
Unadjusted dollars Constant 2011-12 dollars2 Unadjusted dollars Constant 2011-12 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 per-
cent change in
current expenditure
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1919-20 $64   $53 $764   $637 $48   $40 $572   $477
1929-30 108   87 1,442   1,153 90   72 1,194   954
1931-32 97   81 1,529   1,280 82   69 1,295   1,084
1933-34 76   67 1,310   1,160 65   57 1,113   985
1935-36 88   74 1,456   1,230 74   63 1,232   1,041
                           
1937-38 100   84 1,584   1,332 86   72 1,360   1,144
1939-40 106   88 1,722   1,435 92   76 1,492   1,243
1941-42 110   98 1,606   1,435 94   84 1,375   1,229
1943-44 125   117 1,628   1,528 105   99 1,372   1,287
1945-46 146   136 1,820   1,702 124   116 1,550   1,450
                           
1947-48 205   181 2,001   1,772 179   158 1,747   1,548
1949-50 260   210 2,502   2,021 231   187 2,220   1,794
1951-52 314   246 2,723   2,130 275   215 2,384   1,865
1953-54 351   265 2,970   2,241 312   236 2,641   1,993
1955-56 387   294 3,276   2,491 354   269 2,995   2,277
                           
1957-58 447   341 3,565   2,718 408   311 3,252   2,479
1959-60 471   375 3,648   2,905 440   350 3,408   2,714
1961-62 517   419 3,915   3,172 485   393 3,674   2,977
1963-64 559   460 4,122   3,396 520   428 3,837   3,161
1965-66 654   538 4,663   3,835 607   499 4,329   3,560
                           
1967-68 786   658 5,263   4,405 732   612 4,895   4,098
1969-70 955   816 5,753   4,916 879   751 5,296   4,525
1970-71 1,049   911 6,012   5,219 970   842 5,558   4,825 6.6
1971-72 1,128   990 6,237   5,473 1,034   908 5,720   5,020 4.0
1972-73 1,211   1,077 6,435   5,725 1,117   993 5,936   5,281 5.2
                           
1973-74 1,364   1,207 6,657   5,892 1,244   1,101 6,070   5,373 1.7
1974-75 1,545   1,365 6,787   5,995 1,423   1,257 6,253   5,523 2.8
1975-76 1,697   1,504 6,965   6,170 1,563   1,385 6,413   5,681 2.9
1976-77 1,816   1,638 7,042   6,349 1,674   1,509 6,489   5,851 3.0
1977-78 2,002   1,823 7,275   6,623 1,842   1,677 6,691   6,091 4.1
                           
1978-79 2,210   2,020 7,342   6,712 2,029   1,855 6,742   6,164 1.2
1979-80 2,491   2,272 7,301   6,659 2,290   2,088 6,712   6,122 -0.7
1980-81 2,742 4 2,502 7,204 4 6,572 2,529 4 2,307 6,645 4 6,062 -1.0
1981-82 2,973 4 2,726 7,190 4 6,591 2,754 4 2,525 6,660 4 6,106 0.7
1982-83 3,203 4 2,955 7,427 4 6,852 2,966 4 2,736 6,877 4 6,344 3.9
                           
1983-84 3,471 4 3,173 7,761 4 7,095 3,216 4 2,940 7,190 4 6,573 3.6
1984-85 3,722 4 3,470 8,008 4 7,467 3,456 4 3,222 7,435 4 6,933 5.5
1985-86 4,020 4 3,756 8,407 4 7,854 3,724 4 3,479 7,788 4 7,276 5.0
1986-87 4,308 4 3,970 8,813 4 8,123 3,995 4 3,682 8,173 4 7,532 3.5
1987-88 4,654 4 4,240 9,143 4 8,329 4,310 4 3,927 8,467 4 7,714 2.4
                           
1988-89 5,108   4,645 9,591   8,721 4,737   4,307 8,894   8,088 4.8
1989-90 5,547   4,980 9,941   8,925 5,172   4,643 9,269   8,321 2.9
1990-91 5,882   5,258 9,995   8,935 5,484   4,902 9,318   8,330 0.1
1991-92 6,072   5,421 9,998   8,926 5,626   5,023 9,264   8,271 -0.7
1992-93 6,279   5,584 10,026   8,915 5,802   5,160 9,264   8,238 -0.4
                           
1993-94 6,489   5,767 10,099   8,976 5,994   5,327 9,328   8,291 0.6
1994-95 6,723   5,989 10,172   9,061 6,206   5,529 9,390   8,365 0.9
1995-96 6,959   6,147 10,250   9,054 6,441   5,689 9,487   8,380 0.2
1996-97 7,297   6,393 10,450   9,155 6,761   5,923 9,683   8,483 1.2
1997-98 7,701   6,676 10,834   9,392 7,139   6,189 10,045   8,708 2.7
                           
1998-99 8,115   7,013 11,224   9,699 7,531   6,508 10,415   9,001 3.4
1999-2000 8,589   7,394 11,545   9,939 8,030   6,912 10,794   9,292 3.2
2000-01 9,180   7,904 11,931   10,272 8,572   7,380 11,140   9,592 3.2
2001-02 9,611   8,259 12,274   10,547 8,993   7,727 11,485   9,868 2.9
2002-03 9,950   8,610 12,434   10,759 9,296   8,044 11,617   10,052 1.9
                           
2003-04 10,308   8,900 12,605   10,883 9,625   8,310 11,770   10,163 1.1
2004-05 10,779   9,316 12,796   11,059 10,078   8,711 11,964   10,341 1.8
2005-06 11,338   9,778 12,966   11,182 10,603   9,145 12,126   10,458 1.1
2006-07 12,015   10,336 13,394   11,522 11,252   9,679 12,543   10,790 3.2
2007-08 12,759   10,982 13,715   11,805 11,965   10,298 12,861   11,070 2.6
                           
2008-095  13,033   11,239 13,816   11,914 12,222   10,540 12,957   11,173 0.9
2009-10 13,041   11,445 13,692   12,017 12,136   10,652 12,743   11,184 0.1
—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.
5 Revised from previously published figures.
NOTE: Beginning in 1980-81, state administration expenditures are excluded from both "total" and "current" expenditures. Current expenditures include instruction, 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.
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 2009-10. (This table was prepared January 2013.)

2012 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest