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Digest of Education Statistics
2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 236.55. Total and current expenditures per pupil in public elementary and secondary schools: Selected years, 1919-20 through 2014-15
School year Expenditure per pupil in average daily attendance Expenditure per pupil in fall enrollment1
Unadjusted dollars2 Constant 2016-17 dollars3 Unadjusted dollars2 Constant 2016-17 dollars3
Total expendi-
ture4
Current expendi-
ture
Total expendi-
ture4
Current expendi-
ture
Total expendi-
ture4
Current expendi-
ture
Total expendi-
ture4
Current expendi-
ture
Annual percent
change in
current
expenditure
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1919-20 $64   $53 $814   $679 $48   $40 $609   $508
1929-30 108   87 1,538   1,229 90   72 1,274   1,018
1931-32 97   81 1,630   1,365 82   69 1,380   1,155
1933-34 76   67 1,397   1,237 65   57 1,187   1,051
1935-36 88   74 1,553   1,312 74   63 1,313   1,110
                           
1937-38 100   84 1,689   1,421 86   72 1,450   1,220
1939-40 106   88 1,836   1,530 92   76 1,591   1,326
1941-42 110   98 1,712   1,530 94   84 1,466   1,310
1943-44 125   117 1,736   1,629 105   99 1,463   1,373
1945-46 146   136 1,940   1,814 124   116 1,653   1,546
                           
1947-48 205   181 2,133   1,890 179   158 1,863   1,650
1949-50 260   210 2,668   2,155 231   187 2,367   1,913
1951-52 314   246 2,903   2,272 275   215 2,542   1,989
1953-54 351   265 3,167   2,390 312   236 2,816   2,125
1955-56 387   294 3,493   2,656 354   269 3,193   2,428
                           
1957-58 447   341 3,802   2,899 408   311 3,467   2,644
1959-60 471   375 3,890   3,098 440   350 3,634   2,894
1961-62 517   419 4,175   3,383 485   393 3,917   3,174
1963-64 559   460 4,396   3,622 520   428 4,091   3,371
1965-66 654   538 4,972   4,089 607   499 4,616   3,796
                           
1967-68 786   658 5,612   4,697 732   612 5,220   4,369
1969-70 955   816 6,135   5,242 879   751 5,648   4,826
1970-71 1,049   911 6,411   5,565 970   842 5,926   5,145 6.6
1971-72 1,128   990 6,651   5,836 1,034   908 6,100   5,352 4.0
1972-73 1,211   1,077 6,862   6,104 1,117   993 6,330   5,631 5.2
                           
1973-74 1,364   1,207 7,098   6,283 1,244   1,101 6,472   5,729 1.7
1974-75 1,545   1,365 7,237   6,393 1,423   1,257 6,668   5,890 2.8
1975-76 1,697   1,504 7,427   6,579 1,563   1,385 6,838   6,058 2.9
1976-77 1,816   1,638 7,509   6,770 1,674   1,509 6,920   6,239 3.0
1977-78 2,002   1,823 7,758   7,062 1,842   1,677 7,135   6,495 4.1
                           
1978-79 2,210   2,020 7,828   7,157 2,029   1,855 7,189   6,573 1.2
1979-80 2,491   2,272 7,785   7,101 2,290   2,088 7,157   6,528 -0.7
1980-81 2,742 5  2,502 7,682 5  7,008 2,529 5  2,307 7,085 5  6,464 -1.0
1981-82 2,973 5  2,726 7,667 5  7,028 2,754 5  2,525 7,102 5  6,510 0.7
1982-83 3,203 5  2,955 7,920 5  7,306 2,966 5  2,736 7,333 5  6,765 3.9
                           
1983-84 3,471 5  3,173 8,276 5  7,565 3,216 5  2,940 7,666 5  7,009 3.6
1984-85 3,722 5  3,470 8,539 5  7,962 3,456 5  3,222 7,928 5  7,393 5.5
1985-86 4,020 5  3,756 8,964 5  8,375 3,724 5  3,479 8,305 5  7,759 5.0
1986-87 4,308 5  3,970 9,398 5  8,662 3,995 5  3,682 8,715 5  8,032 3.5
1987-88 4,654 5  4,240 9,749 5  8,882 4,310 5  3,927 9,028 5  8,225 2.4
                           
1988-89 5,108   4,645 10,227   9,300 4,737   4,307 9,484   8,624 4.8
1989-90 5,547   4,980 10,601   9,516 5,172   4,643 9,883   8,873 2.9
1990-91 5,882   5,258 10,658   9,527 5,484   4,902 9,936   8,882 0.1
1991-92 6,072   5,421 10,661   9,518 5,626   5,023 9,878   8,819 -0.7
1992-93 6,279   5,584 10,691   9,506 5,802   5,160 9,879   8,784 -0.4
                           
1993-94 6,489   5,767 10,769   9,571 5,994   5,327 9,947   8,841 0.6
1994-95 6,723   5,989 10,846   9,662 6,206   5,529 10,012   8,919 0.9
1995-96 6,959   6,147 10,930   9,654 6,441   5,689 10,116   8,935 0.2
1996-97 7,297   6,393 11,143   9,762 6,761   5,923 10,325   9,045 1.2
1997-98 7,701   6,676 11,553   10,015 7,139   6,189 10,711   9,285 2.7
                           
1998-99 8,115   7,013 11,968   10,343 7,531   6,508 11,106   9,598 3.4
1999-2000 8,589   7,394 12,311   10,598 8,030   6,912 11,510   9,908 3.2
2000-01 9,180   7,904 12,722   10,953 8,572   7,380 11,879   10,228 3.2
2001-02 9,611   8,259 13,088   11,246 8,993   7,727 12,246   10,523 2.9
2002-03 9,950   8,610 13,258   11,473 9,296   8,044 12,387   10,719 1.9
                           
2003-04 10,308   8,900 13,441   11,605 9,625   8,310 12,551   10,836 1.1
2004-05 10,779   9,316 13,644   11,793 10,078   8,711 12,758   11,027 1.8
2005-06 11,338   9,778 13,825   11,924 10,603   9,145 12,930   11,151 1.1
2006-07 12,015   10,336 14,282   12,286 11,252   9,679 13,375   11,505 3.2
2007-08 12,759   10,982 14,625   12,588 11,965   10,298 13,714   11,804 2.6
                           
2008-09 13,033   11,239 14,733   12,704 12,222   10,540 13,816   11,914 0.9
2009-10 13,035   11,427 14,594   12,794 12,133   10,636 13,584   11,908 -0.1
2010-11 12,926   11,433 14,187   12,549 12,054   10,663 13,230   11,703 -1.7
2011-12 12,796   11,362 13,644   12,116 11,991   10,648 12,786   11,354 -3.0
2012-13 12,859   11,509 13,487   12,072 12,033   10,771 12,621   11,297 -0.5
                           
2013-146 13,174   11,819 13,606   12,206 12,335   11,066 12,739   11,429 1.2
2014-15 13,668   12,224 14,013   12,533 12,796   11,445 13,119   11,734 2.7
—Not available.
1 Data for 1919-20 to 1953-54 are based on school-year enrollment.
2 Unadjusted (or "current") dollars have not been adjusted to compensate for inflation.
3 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.
4 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.
5 Estimated.
6 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 2014-15. (This table was prepared October 2017.)

2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest