New York once again tops the 50-state (plus D.C.) rankings of per-pupil spending in the latest U.S. Census Bureau data on public school finances.
As of 2012, public schools in the Empire State spent $19,552 per pupil—84 percent above the U.S. average, according to the latest annual Census Bureau report, which was released today.
The gap between New York and the rest of the U.S. has increased significantly during the latest six years for which the Census Bureau has compiled these statistics. As of 2005-06, New York’s per pupil spending was 63 percent above average.
New York’s high spending was driven overwhelmingly by instructional salaries and benefits — which, at $13,582 per pupil, were 111 percent above the national average. In the category of “support services,” including central and school administration, New York ranked seventh with spending of $5,549 per pupil. That was 49 percent above the national average—but if New York had only spent the national average in the support category, it would still have had the highest total per-pupil spending in the country.
Below is the 50-state table. Note: we not only spend far above the national average, we spend considerably more than neighboring northeastern states, which have similarly high-spending traditions (and powerful public education lobbies).
You may also like
New York Schools will Spend More and Deliver Less – Again
As voters across New York head to the polls to decide their local school budgets, the big question – why New York schools deliver poor results despite spending the most in the nation – is barely on anyone’s mind.
New York’s fourth-grade and eig Read More
Giving Families an Escape Hatch from NYC Public Schools
Zohran Mamdani's stunning election as mayor of New York City marks a watershed moment for the Empire State. As a self-described democratic socialist and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Mamdani rode a wave of pr Read More
K-12 SOS. Buffalo City School District
K-12 SOS is a pilot project of the Empire Center to inform parents, politicians, and decision-makers about the state of K-12 education in New York State. Determining why certain schools perform better than others is beyond the scope of this research. Read More
An Eerie Silence About the State of Education in New York
A by National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) lamented the declining state of U.S. education by highlighting how scores in grade 12 math and reading have hit record lows. While Covid-19 was definitely a factor, others correctly pointed out that Read More
Corrected: As Math and Reading Proficiency Went Up, ‘Cut Scores’ Went Down
(Corrected on Aug. 27: The original version of this post inappropriately combined "scale scores" calculated by the Albany Times Union for the past three years with "cut scores" posted by the Education Read More
New York’s K-12 Problem
New York has an education problem that no one really likes to talk about: it spends more than any other state or country in the world yet achieves mediocre results at best. This might come as a surprise, especially since some politicians and pundits tout Read More
Empire Center Launches K-12 SOS on Education Achievement and Spending in New York
In 2022-23 New York used to spend more than any other state or country – $30,000 per student. Next school year the spending might increase to $35,000 per student.
Even at $30,000 New York spends twice as much as the US average, and about a third more Read More
Don’t Tell The Grownups: NY Still Hiding State Test Scores
State education officials are refusing to release the results of federally required assessments in grades 3 through 8, deliberately keeping parents and taxpayers in the dark—not only about how New York’s public schools performed, but also about how that performance was measured. Read More