Expenditures for public and private education, from preprimary through graduate school, are projected at $1.3 trillion for 2016–17. The expenditures of elementary and secondary schools are expected to total $759 billion for 2016–17, while colleges and universities will spend about $583 billion (see Digest of Education Statistics, 2017, tables 106.10 and 106.20). After adjustment for inflation, total expenditures for all educational institutions rose by an estimated 15 percent between 2006–07 and 2016–17. Expenditures for elementary and secondary schools were 5 percent higher in 2016–17 than in 2006–07, while total expenditures for colleges and universities rose by 31 percent.
The total expenditures for education are estimated to amount to about 7.2 percent of the gross domestic product in 2016–17.
| Year | Expenditures in billions of current dollars | Expenditures in billions of constant 2016–17 dollars1 | Percent of gross domestic product2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980–81 | $176 | $494 | 6.2 |
| 1985–86 | 259 | 578 | 6.0 |
| 1990–91 | 395 | 716 | 6.6 |
| 1995–96 | 509 | 799 | 6.6 |
| 2000–01 | 705 | 977 | 6.9 |
| 2004–05 | 876 | 1,109 | 7.1 |
| 2005–06 | 925 | 1,128 | 7.1 |
| 2006–07 | 984 | 1,170 | 7.1 |
| 2007–08 | 1,055 | 1,209 | 7.3 |
| 2008–09 | 1,090 | 1,232 | 7.4 |
| 2009–10 | 1,101 | 1,233 | 7.6 |
| 2010–11 | 1,124 | 1,234 | 7.5 |
| 2011–12 | 1,137 | 1,212 | 7.3 |
| 2012–13 | 1,154 | 1,210 | 7.1 |
| 2013–14 | 1,193 | 1,232 | 7.1 |
| 2014–15 | 1,242 | 1,273 | 7.1 |
| 2015–163 | 1,293 | 1,317 | 7.1 |
| 2016–173 | 1,342 | 1,342 | 7.2 |