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Digest of Education Statistics
2021 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 236.90. Students transported at public expense and current expenditures for transportation: Selected years, 1929-30 through 2018-19
School year Average
daily atten-
dance, public
school students
Students transported
at public expense1
Expenditures for transportation,
in unadjusted dollars2
Expenditures for
transportation, in
constant 2020-21 dollars3
Number Percent of
total
Total4, in
thousands
Average per
student
transported
Total4,
in thousands
Average
per student
transported
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1929-30 21,265,000 1,902,826   8.9 $54,823   $29   $842,830   $443  
1931-32 22,245,000 2,419,173   10.9 58,078   24   1,060,088   438  
1933-34 22,458,000 2,794,724   12.4 53,908   19   1,071,284   383  
1935-36 22,299,000 3,250,658   14.6 62,653   19   1,199,767   369  
1937-38 22,298,000 3,769,242   16.9 75,637   20   1,389,456   369  

1939-40
22,042,000 4,144,161   18.8 83,283   20   1,568,229   378  
1941-42 21,031,000 4,503,081   21.4 92,922   21   1,568,273   348  
1943-44 19,603,000 4,512,412   23.0 107,754   24   1,627,293   361  
1945-46 19,849,000 5,056,966   25.5 129,756   26   1,871,802   370  
1947-48 20,910,000 5,854,041   28.0 176,265   30   1,990,743   340  

1949-50
22,284,000 6,947,384   31.2 214,504   31   2,383,437   343  
1951-52 23,257,000 7,697,130   33.1 268,827   35   2,691,553   350  
1953-54 25,643,871 8,411,719   32.8 307,437   37   3,008,417   358  
1955-56 27,740,149 9,695,819   35.0 353,972   37   3,464,944   357  
1957-58 29,722,275 10,861,689   36.5 416,491   38   3,837,805   353  

1959-60
32,477,440 12,225,142   37.6 486,338   40   4,355,591   356  
1961-62 34,682,340 13,222,667   38.1 576,361   44   5,045,910   382  
1963-64 37,405,058 14,475,778   38.7 673,845   47   5,749,400   397  
1965-66 39,154,497 15,536,567   39.7 787,358   51   6,493,483   418  
1967-68 40,827,965 17,130,873   42.0 981,006   57   7,590,941   443  

1969-70
41,934,376 18,198,577   43.4 1,218,557   67   8,488,802   466  
1971-72 42,254,272 19,474,355   46.1 1,507,830   77   9,642,454   495  
1973-74 41,438,054 21,347,039   51.5 1,858,141   87   10,487,328   491  
1975-76 41,269,720 21,772,483   52.8 2,377,313   109   11,280,470   518  
1977-78 40,079,590 21,800,000 5 54.4 2,731,041   125 5 11,474,401   526 5

1979-80
38,288,911 21,950,060   57.3 3,833,145   175   12,993,134   592  
1980-81 37,703,744 22,294,000 5 59.1 4,408,000 5 198 5 13,390,703 5 601 5
1981-82 37,094,652 22,213,000 5 59.9 4,793,000 5 216 5 13,402,503 5 603 5
1982-83 36,635,868 22,120,000 5 60.4 5,000,000 5 226 5 13,405,553 5 606 5
1983-84 36,362,978 22,196,000 5 61.0 5,284,000 5 238 5 13,661,318 5 615 5

1984-85
36,404,261 22,040,000 5 60.5 5,722,000 5 260 5 14,236,482 5 646 5
1985-86 36,523,103 21,872,000 5 59.9 6,123,000 5 280 5 14,807,186 5 677 5
1986-87 36,863,867 21,901,000 5 59.4 6,551,000 5 299 5 15,498,118 5 708 5
1987-88 37,050,707 22,056,000 5 59.5 6,888,000 5 312 5 15,647,037 5 709 5
1988-89 37,268,072 22,321,000 5 59.9 7,550,000 5 338 5 16,393,739 5 734 5

1989-90
37,799,296 21,877,000 5 57.9 8,030,990   367 5 16,643,931   761 5
1990-91 38,426,543 22,145,000 5 57.6 8,678,954   392 5 17,054,411   770 5
1991-92 38,960,783 22,506,000 5 57.8 8,769,754   390 5 16,697,799   742 5
1992-93 39,570,462 22,845,000 5 57.7 9,252,300   405 5 17,082,982   748 5
1993-94 40,146,393 23,172,000 5 57.7 9,627,155   415 5 17,326,272   748 5

1994-95
40,720,763 23,493,000 5 57.7 9,889,034   421 5 17,301,667   736 5
1995-96 41,501,596 23,955,000 5 57.7 10,396,426   434 5 17,707,636   739 5
1996-97 42,262,004 24,430,000 5 57.8 10,989,809   450 5 18,199,079   745 5
1997-98 42,765,774 24,659,000 5 57.7 11,465,658   465 5 18,654,396   756 5
1998-99 43,186,715 24,717,000 5 57.2 12,224,454   495 5 19,550,494   791 5

1999-2000
43,806,726 24,669,000 5 56.3 13,007,625   527 5 20,219,323   820 5
2000-01 44,075,930 24,621,000 5 55.9 14,052,654   571 5 21,120,154   858 5
2001-02 44,604,592 24,780,000 6 55.6 14,799,365   597 6 21,855,458   882 6
2002-03 45,017,360 24,807,000 6 55.1 15,648,821   631 6 22,612,970   912 6
2003-04 45,325,731 25,252,000 6 55.7 16,348,784   647 6 23,118,666   916 6

2004-05
45,625,458 25,368,000 6 55.6 17,459,659   688 6 23,968,276   945 6
2005-06 45,931,617 25,448,000 6 55.4 18,850,234   741 6 24,927,926   980 6
2006-07 46,132,663 25,337,000 6 54.9 19,979,068   789 6 25,754,694   1,016 6
2007-08 46,155,880 25,305,000 5 54.8 21,536,978   851 5 26,771,014   1,058 5
2008-09 46,173,477 25,095,000 5 54.3 21,679,876   864 5 26,577,537   1,059 5

2009-10
45,919,206 24,779,000 5 54.0 21,819,304   881 5 26,492,129   1,069 5
2010-11 46,118,737 24,709,000 5 53.6 22,370,807   905 5 26,627,075   1,078 5
2011-12 46,400,465 24,493,000 5 52.8 22,926,700   936 5 26,511,915   1,082 5
2012-13 46,553,754 24,355,000 5 52.3 23,237,941   954 5 26,431,962   1,085 5
2013-14 46,829,716 24,694,000 5 52.7 23,845,036   966 5 26,705,332   1,081 5

2014-15
47,064,337 24,566,000 5 52.2 23,961,692   975 5 26,641,977   1,085 5
2015-16 47,248,060 24,413,000 5 51.7 24,325,727   996 5 26,865,567   1,100 5
2016-17 47,287,406 24,359,000 5 51.5 25,350,714   1,041 5 27,491,864   1,129 5
2017-18 47,229,863 24,301,000 5 51.5 26,211,145   1,079 5 27,798,333   1,144 5
2018-19 47,167,316 24,245,000 5 51.4 27,942,751   1,153 5 29,033,131   1,197 5
1 Includes private school students who were transported at public expense.
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 capital outlay for years through 1979-80 and for 1989-90 to the latest year. From 1980-81 to 1988-89, total transportation figures include capital outlay.
5 Estimate based on data appearing in January issues of School Bus Fleet.
6 Estimate based on data reported by School Transportation News.
NOTE: Data in this table represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Statistics of State School Systems, 1929-30 through 1975-76; Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education, 1977-78 and 1979-80; Common Core of Data (CCD), "National Public Education Financial Survey," 1987-88 through 2018-19; Bobit Publishing Co., School Bus Fleet, "School Transportation: 2000-2001 School Year" and Fact Book, 2010 through 2021; School Transportation News, "K-12 Enrollment/Transportation Data," 2001-02 through 2006-07; and unpublished data. (This table was prepared January 2022.)

2021 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest