U.S. Department of Education 

Institute of Education Sciences

NCES 2005–342 

Revenues and 

Expenditures by 

Public School 

Districts: School 

Year 2001–02 

E.D. TAB 

U.S. Department of Education 

Institute of Education Sciences

NCES 2005–342 

Revenues and 

Expenditures by 

Public School 

Districts: School 

Year 2001–02 

E.D. TAB 

April 2005 

Frank Johnson

National Center for 

Education Statistics 
U.S. Department of Education 

Margaret Spellings 

Secretary 

Institute of Education Sciences 

Grover J. Whitehurst 

Director 

National Center for Education Statistics 

Grover J. Whitehurst 

Acting Commissioner 

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and 

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April 2005 

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Suggested Citation: 

Johnson, F. (2005). Revenues and Expenditures by Public School Districts: School Year 2001–02 (NCES 2005–342). 

U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. 

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Acknowledgments 

The author would like to thank the following reviewers for their assistance with this 

publication: Marilyn Seastrom, Lee Hoffman, Jeffrey Owings, Steve Broughman, and Bill 

Sonnenberg of NCES, Duc-Le To of the Institute of Education Sciences, Sharon Meade

and James Berry of the Census Bureau, and Rob Stillwell, Mike Planty, Nina Emerson, and

Kevin Bromer of the American Institutes for Research. The author would also like to thank 

Carol Rohr of Pinkerton Computer Consultants, Inc. for the final formatting of this report. 

iii 
iv 
Contents 

Acknowledgments...................................................................................................... iii 

Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 

Highlights .................................................................................................................. 2 

Revenues per Student Received by School Districts.................................................. 2 

Total Expenditures per Student by School Districts .................................................. 2 

Current Expenditures per Student............................................................................ 3 

Current Expenditures for Charter Schools................................................................ 4 

Current Expenditures for Unified Districts............................................................... 4 

Methodology .............................................................................................................11 

Definitions................................................................................................................12 

For More Information ................................................................................................13 

v 
List of Tables 

Table 1. Revenues per student for public elementary and secondary school districts, by

state: School year 2001–02........................................................................... 6 

Table 2. Expenditures per student for elementary and secondary education, by type of 

expenditure for regular districts and for independent charter school districts: 

School year 2001–02 ................................................................................... 7 

Table 3. School district expenditures per student, by type of expenditures and state: 

School year 2001–02 ................................................................................... 8 

Table 4. Current expenditures per student for public elementary and secondary school 

districts, by state: School year 2001–02 ........................................................ 9 

Table 5. Current expenditures per student for unified school districts, by state: School 

year 2001–02 .............................................................................................10

vi 
Introduction 

This report presents findings from the Common Core of Data (CCD) “School District

Finance Survey.” These data are collected annually from state education agencies through 

the U.S. Census Bureau’s “Survey of Local Government Finances: School Systems.” Data

in the “School District Finance Survey” include revenues by source, expenditures by

function and object, long-term and short-term debt, and student membership for each 

school district in the United States. 

This short report on school district revenues and expenditures is a companion to the statelevel E.D. TAB, Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary 

Education: School Year 2001–02 (NCES 2004–341), which presents total state and

national spending on public elementary and secondary education. These data were 

collected and edited between March 2003 and March 2004. These data are final. 

Only regular school districts (see “Definitions”) with student counts greater than 0,

current expenditures per student between $2,500 and $35,000, and that are on the CCD 

“Local Education Agency Universe Survey” file were included in this analysis. There were

14,002 such districts in school year 2001–02. For more information about how this study

was conducted, see the “Methodology” section. 

Data on the number of students and districts within each state also show the variation in

the organization of education across the country. For example, Florida, with over 2 million 

students, has 67 school districts, whereas Nebraska, with fewer than 300,000 students, has 

524 school districts. The number and size of school districts may affect administrative and

other overhead costs. 

The District of Columbia is a single urban school district. It is treated separately from the

states in the analysis below, because it is often an outlier with larger revenues and 

expenditures per student than 95 percent of the districts in most states. The District of

Columbia did not report any finance data for their charter schools. 

The federal range ratio is used in this report as an indicator of the difference between

districts with relatively high revenues (or expenditures) per student and districts with 

relatively low revenues (or expenditures) per student, within the state and the nation. It is

the difference between the amount per student of the district at the 95th percentile and the 

district at the 5th percentile, divided by the amount for the district at the 5th percentile.

1

 

1

 Comparisons using the federal range ratio exclude the top and bottom 5 percent of districts, and reduce the influence of extreme

cases. The federal range ratio conveys an idea of the magnitude of differences between districts with relatively high revenues or

expenditures per student and districts with relatively low revenues or expenditures per student, after excluding extremes. The 

federal range ratio has been used by Berne and Stiefel (The Measurement of Equity in School Finance, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins 

University Press. 1984); Parish, Matsumoto, and Fowler (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

Disparities in Public School District Spending. NCES 95–300); and by Hussar and Sonnenberg (U.S. Department of Education, 

National Center for Education Statistics. Trends in Disparities in School District Level Expenditures per Pupil. NCES 2000–

020). 

1 
Highlights 

Revenues per Student Received by School Districts 

• In the 2001–02 school year, the median school district received $8,572 per student 

in revenues from state, local, and federal sources (table 1). The median revenue per 

student indicates that half of the districts received less than $8,572 per student and 

half of the districts received more than $8,572 per student. 

• Median school district revenues per student among the states ranged from $6,039 in 

Tennessee to $16,342 in Alaska. Revenues in the District of Columbia were 

$16,627. 

• Ninety percent of the school districts in the country received between $6,208 and 

$16,286 per student. When school district revenues per student are ranked from

highest to lowest, the value for the district at the 5th percentile was $6,208, and the 

value for the district at the 95th percentile was $16,286. The federal range ratio 

indicates the difference, or “disparity,” between the 5th and 95th percentile. The 

federal range ratio for total revenues per student was 1.62, indicating that the 

district at the 95th percentile received 162 percent more revenue per student as the 

district at the 5th percentile.

• The federal range ratio varied from 0.3 in Kentucky, Maryland, and West Virginia

to 2.7 in Montana. In 25 states the revenues per student were relatively 

homogeneous, with districts at the 95th percentile reporting less than twice the 

amount of revenue per student as the district at the 5th percentile, that is, their

federal range ratios were under 1.0. On the other hand, the top 5 percent of the 

districts in 4 states received revenues per student of more than 3 times the revenue

per student of the districts at the bottom 5 percent, that is, their federal range ratios 

were greater than 2.0.

Total Expenditures per Student by School Districts

• In 2001–02, the median total expenditure by school districts in the nation was 

$8,424 per student (table 2). This included current operating expenditures, capital 

outlays (for school construction and equipment), expenditures for programs other 

than elementary/secondary education (such as adult education and community

service programs), interest payments on long-term debt, and payments to state and

local governments. Total expenditures do not include payments to other school 

districts. (Revenues received from other school districts are included in total 

revenues.) 

• Tables 2 and 3 include median expenditures across districts in all states for specific

types of expenditures and for the total of these expenditures. The median district in

total expenditures is unlikely to be the median district in current expenditures or

other types of expenditures. Therefore, the median expenditures for the components 

(e.g., current, instruction, support services, etc.) do not sum to the median for total 

expenditures.

• Total expenditures per student ranged between $6,001 and $16,184 for 90 percent 

of the school districts in the country (i.e., those districts between the 5th and 95th

percentiles, table 2). The federal range ratio for total expenditures per student was 

1.70, indicating that the district at the 95th percentile spent 170 percent more per 

student as the district at the 5th percentile. The federal range ratio was slightly less 

for current expenditures (1.38) and support services (1.44) and slightly more for 

support services (1.90). 

2 
• Per-student spending on capital outlay (for school construction and equipment) in 

districts with per student expenditures at the 95th percentile was 8,417 percent 

more than that of districts at the 5th percentile (table 2). Most of the expenditures

reported for capital outlay are for school construction. School districts with stable 

student populations may not need to make large expenditures for school 

construction, whereas districts experiencing a growing population of children tend

to spend more money on school construction. In addition, expenditures for 

construction do not appear regularly from one year to the next. Districts may build

several schools at the same time. This results in a large expenditure for capital

outlays one year and small expenditures in subsequent years.

• Per-student spending for programs other than elementary/secondary education was 

approximately 29 times greater in high-spending districts than the national median

($263 vs. $9, table 2). The adult education and community service programs that 

make up most of the other program spending do not exist in many school districts. 

At least 5 percent of all school districts do not have programs other than 

elementary/secondary education, nor do they have interest payments or payments to

other government agencies. 

• Median total expenditures per student ranged from $5,954 in Mississippi to $16,456 

in Alaska (table 3). Total expenditures in the District of Columbia were $16,738. 

The median total expenditure per student was over $10,000 in Alaska, Connecticut, 

Delaware, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New 

York, and Wyoming. 

• Median per student expenditures for instruction (teacher salaries, classroom

supplies, etc.) ranged from $3,254 in Mississippi to $8,931 in Alaska (table 3). 

Among the 10 states with the highest median expenditures per student for

instruction, eight were in the Northeast.2

• Median per student expenditures for capital projects (primarily school construction) 

ranged from $145 in Vermont to $1,597 in Delaware (table 3) among the 50 states. 

Capital expenditures per student were $3,198 in the District of Columbia. 

Current Expenditures per Student 

Because of the variation in the kinds of programs run by school districts and the large 

swings in school construction expenditures, researchers often use current rather than total 

expenditures when reporting and comparing school district expenditures. Current 

expenditures are expenditures for the day-to-day operations of schools and school 

districts. They do not include expenditures for construction, equipment, debt financing, 

and programs outside of public elementary/secondary education. 

• The median current expenditure per student for the nation was $7,294 (table 4). 

• Per student spending in districts at the 95th percentile was more than 138 percent 

more than per student spending in districts at the 5th percentile (i.e., the federal

range ratio was 1.38). Spending in districts at the 95th percentile was less than 50

percent higher than spending in districts at the 5th percentile in 13 states (i.e., the 

federal range ratio was less than 0.50). 

 

2

 New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, and Delaware. Instruction expenditures 

per student in the District of Columbia were higher than any state’s median per student instruction expenditures, except in Alaska 

and New York.

3 
• The median current expenditure per student in Alaska ($14,549) and the District of 

Columbia ($13,330) was larger than the current expenditure per student in 95 

percent of all districts in the nation (in other words, greater than $13,026). 

• The three states with the highest federal range ratio in current expenditures per 

student were Alaska, Montana, and Nevada. Expenditures per students were more

than 3 times greater in the district at the 95th percentile than the district at the 5th

percentile in these states (i.e., their federal range ratio was greater than 2.0). The 

ratio was lowest in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, and West Virginia. In 

the five lowest states, current expenditures per student at the 95th percentile were 

less than 35 percent greater than spending at the 5th percentile. 

Current Expenditures for Charter Schools 

Independent charter schools are public schools that are exempted from significant state or

local rules that normally govern the operation and management of public schools. A 

charter school may be affiliated with a regular school district, a university, or a private 

organization. In order to include all charter schools in its files, NCES created a separate

school district record for each charter school (or charter school organization) that is not 

affiliated with a school district. In this report, data for charter schools that are associated 

with regular school districts are included with the data reported for the entire school 

district, and the data for those schools and the affiliated districts are indistinguishable 

from districts that do not have charter schools. 

Data for independent charter schools that are not affiliated with a regular school district 

were included in this report if they could be matched to the CCD “Local Education

Agency Universe Survey,” if they had a student membership count greater than 0, and if

they had both total revenues and total expenditures greater than 0. Data for independent 

charter school districts are reported at the bottom of each table in this report and are not 

included in the national totals or averages. Certain charter school districts in Arizona,

Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, 

North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas fell into this category. These data are kept

separate because in many cases the data are not complete or fail to meet NCES editing 

standards. This is to be expected if the districts are not required to report finance data to a 

district or other local government agency. In some cases a charter school district may 

operate more than one charter school. 

• The median revenue per student for independent charter schools (not affiliated with 

a public school district) was $7,283 (table 1). The median revenue for 90 percent of

these districts ranged from $3,876 to $13,894. 

• The median total expenditure per student for independent charter schools was 

$7,066 (table 2). 

• Current expenditures per student in charter schools ranged from $3,952 to $12,133

for 90 percent of the charter school districts.

Current Expenditures for Unified Districts 

District-level analyses and comparisons can be complicated by the variety of 

administrative structures that exist across the nation in regular school districts. States 

such as Florida, Maryland, Nevada, and West Virginia have large districts that are 

coterminous with counties and encompass all levels and types of public schools. School 

districts in other states may exist in small communities with only one school, or in larger

communities where all elementary schools are in one school district and all secondary

schools are in another. In some states, all special education schools are administered by a

4 
few specific districts; in other states, each district may have all kinds of different schools

and programs.

3 This variety in the types of school districts makes comparison of

expenditures among school districts difficult. 

The information presented in tables 1 through 4 is based on all regular education school 

districts reporting student counts that are reported on the CCD “Local Education Agency

Universe Survey” regardless of grades served. Table 5 presents current expenditures per 

student in regular unified districts only. Unified districts are school districts with both

elementary and secondary education programs. 

In nine states, fewer than half of the school districts were unified (Arizona, California, 

Illinois, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Vermont). In two 

states, Montana and Vermont, fewer than half of the students attended schools in unified

districts. The federal range ratio was reduced from 1.38 to 1.17 when only unified school 

districts were analyzed.

• Unified school districts serve students in all grades. The median current

expenditure for unified school districts in the nation was $7,157 per student, with 

90 percent of all districts ranging between $5,505 and $11,931 (table 5). The 

federal range ratio was 1.17, indicating a slight reduction in variation of per

student spending compared with all regular school districts (1.38) reported in 

table 4.

 

3

 Special education districts were not included in regular districts. 

5 
Table 1.—Revenues per student for public elementary and secondary school districts, by state: School year 2001–02

 Revenues per student

Federal Number Number

5th 95th range of of

State percentile Median percentile ratio1 districts students

United States $6,208 $8,572 $16,286 1.62 14,002 46,941,294

Alabama 6,149 6,768 8,492 0.38 128 726,367

Alaska 7,930 16,342 28,555 2.60 53 133,010

Arizona 5,659 8,173 18,035 2.19 230 864,264

Arkansas 5,956 6,611 8,974 0.51 310 449,161

California 6,710 7,979 14,628 1.18 971 6,066,162

Colorado 6,607 8,272 14,653 1.22 178 741,319

Connecticut 9,357 11,300 16,820 0.80 166 543,829

Delaware 9,102 10,239 12,295 0.35 16 105,752

District of Columbia † 2 16,627 † 2 † 2 1 68,449

Florida 6,512 7,207 9,435 0.45 67 2,500,179

Georgia 6,973 8,119 10,632 0.52 179 1,466,836

Hawaii † 2 10,239 † 2 † 2 1 184,546

Idaho 5,730 7,510 13,691 1.39 114 246,415

Illinois 6,439 8,135 13,680 1.12 891 2,047,836

Indiana 7,360 8,474 11,144 0.51 292 994,348

Iowa 7,225 8,332 11,477 0.59 371 485,932

Kansas 6,858 8,392 11,460 0.67 303 470,204

Kentucky 6,167 6,837 8,021 0.30 176 654,363

Louisiana 6,126 7,220 9,367 0.53 66 725,027

Maine 8,158 10,620 20,750 1.54 224 204,949

Maryland 8,202 9,250 11,017 0.34 24 860,640

Massachusetts 8,164 10,623 19,685 1.41 302 935,424

Michigan 7,617 8,715 12,098 0.59 553 1,661,301

Minnesota 7,414 8,775 12,013 0.62 342 832,369

Mississippi 5,246 6,087 8,085 0.54 152 492,198

Missouri 6,201 7,513 11,321 0.83 522 909,918

Montana 5,278 8,148 19,325 2.66 442 151,745

Nebraska 5,125 8,551 16,750 2.27 524 283,789

Nevada 6,938 8,309 17,348 1.50 17 356,814

New Hampshire 7,309 10,618 21,521 1.94 162 203,072

New Jersey 9,775 12,458 19,636 1.01 551 1,306,347

New Mexico 6,792 10,404 18,727 1.76 89 320,068

New York 10,283 12,838 20,939 1.04 687 2,846,644

North Carolina 6,497 7,475 9,836 0.51 117 1,296,156

North Dakota 5,902 8,355 16,957 1.87 218 105,936

Ohio 6,848 8,045 14,991 1.19 611 1,796,601

Oklahoma 5,520 6,897 10,677 0.93 542 621,573

Oregon 7,107 8,322 19,671 1.77 197 549,604

Pennsylvania 7,819 9,167 12,296 0.57 500 1,766,513

Rhode Island 8,751 10,142 14,682 0.68 36 156,624

South Carolina 6,904 8,349 10,642 0.54 85 674,347

South Dakota 6,354 7,516 13,574 1.14 173 127,129

Tennessee 5,300 6,039 7,822 0.48 137 897,695

Texas 6,718 8,280 15,673 1.33 1,045 4,115,727

Utah 5,426 6,738 11,335 1.09 40 481,182

Vermont 8,661 14,376 24,525 1.83 240 96,427

Virginia 6,960 8,042 10,801 0.55 132 1,162,045

Washington 6,944 8,390 17,128 1.47 296 1,009,200

West Virginia 7,533 8,244 9,731 0.29 55 282,145

Wisconsin 8,386 9,757 12,009 0.43 426 875,216

Wyoming 8,658 12,063 22,898 1.64 48 87,897

 Independent charter school districts 3,876 7,283 13,894 2.58 943 260,188

† Not applicable.

1 The federal range ratio indicates the difference between the district at the 5th percentile and the 95th percentile (when districts are ranked by revenues per

student within the state) as a ratio of the value to revenues per student for the district at the 5th percentile. 2

 The District of Columbia and Hawaii consist of one school district each.

NOTE: National figures do not include independent charter school districts, i.e., those not affiliated with a non-charter school district. Charter schools

that are affiliated with regular school districts are included in the national and state figures. Only regular school districts matching the Common Core of 

Data (CCD), Agency Universe and with student membership > 0 were used in creating the national and state figures. Regular school districts with current

expenditures per student between $2,500 and $35,000 were included in the national and state figures; 99.87 percent of the school districts met this criterion.

Charter school districts with revenues > 0 or expenditures > 0 were included in the charter school analysis; 99.79 percent of charter school districts met

this criterion. It is assumed that some charter school districts did not report all revenues.

SOURCE: Data reported by states to U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), School

District Finance Survey (F-33), FY 2002, version 1a.

6 
Table 2.—Expenditures per student for elementary and secondary education, by type of expenditure for regular districts and for independent charter school

Table 2.—districts: School year 2001–02

5th percentile Median 95th percentile Federal range ratio1

Regular Districts

Total $6,001 $8,424 $16,184 1.70

Current 5,463 7,294 13,026 1.38

Instruction 3,311 4,500 8,087 1.44

Support Services 1,641 2,481 4,762 1.90

Non-instruction services 20 321 635 30.44

Capital Outlay 50 443 4,298 84.17

Other programs 0 9 263 †

Payments to state and local governments 0 0 139 †

Interest on long-term debt 0 115 662 †

Payments to other school districts2 0 52 1,356 †

Independent charter school districts

Total 4,000 7,066 14,215 2.55

Current 3,952 6,545 12,133 2.07

Instruction 1,453 3,439 6,667 3.59

Support Services 1,354 2,861 6,125 3.52

Non-instruction services 0 62 582 †

Capital Outlay 0 0 2,266 †

Other programs 0 0 282 †

Payments to state and local governments 000†

Interest on long-term debt 0 0 184 †

Payments to other school districts2 0 0 67

† Not applicable.

1 The federal ran

†

ge ratio indicates the difference between the district at the 5th percentile and the 95th percentile (when districts are ranked by expenditures 

per student within the state) as a ratio of the value to expenditures per student for the district at the 5th percentile. 2 Total expenditures do not include payments to other school districts.

NOTE: National figures do not include independent charter school districts, i.e., those not affiliated with a non-charter school district. Charter schools that

are affiliated with regular school districts are included in the national and state figures. Only regular school districts matching the Common Core of Data

(CCD), Agency Universe and with student membership > 0 were used in creating the national and state figures. Regular school districts with current

expenditures per student between $2,500 and $35,000 were included in the national and state figures; 99.87 percent of the school districts met this criterion.

Charter school districts with revenues > 0 or expenditures > 0 were included in the charter school analysis; 99.79 percent of charter school districts met this

criterion. The District of Columbia and Hawaii consist of one school district each. Other programs include community services, adult education, and 

community colleges. 

SOURCE: Data reported by states to U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), School

District Finance Survey (F-33), FY 2002, version 1a.

Type of expenditure

Expenditures per student

7 
8 

Table 3.—School district expenditures per student, by type of expenditure and state: School year 2001–02

 Median per pupil expenditures

Other

programs3 Interest

Capital and payments expenditures Payments

Total Current Instruction outlay to other govt. on long- to other

State expenditures1 expenditures2 expenditures expenditures agencies term debt districts1

United States $8,424 $7,294 $4,500 $443 $15 $115 $52

Alabama 6,755 6,042 3,725 380 132 72 1

Alaska 16,456 14,549 8,931 759 21 0 0

Arizona 7,585 6,197 3,287 679 0 12 0

Arkansas 6,438 5,813 3,671 283 0 118 0

California 8,109 7,003 4,448 617 20 29 32

Colorado 8,129 7,101 4,160 523 0 126 131

Connecticut 10,558 9,737 6,182 314 14 255 120

Delaware 10,726 8,742 5,489 1,597 17 81 300

District of Columbia4 16,738 13,330 6,617 3,198 210 0 0

Florida 7,262 6,015 3,437 907 107 91 0

Georgia 7,901 6,975 4,450 628 1 73 6

Hawaii4 7,785 7,306 4,417 228 250 0 0

Idaho 7,439 6,645 4,077 358 0 107 0

Illinois 8,157 7,043 4,257 585 1 117 286

Indiana 8,362 6,887 4,178 604 609 32 215

Iowa 7,551 6,796 4,173 434 0 83 694

Kansas 8,149 7,397 4,330 453 0 107 5

Kentucky 6,705 6,221 3,852 222 96 132 0

Louisiana 7,148 6,525 3,964 356 25 116 0

Maine 9,723 9,016 5,859 188 24 62 225

Maryland 9,272 8,077 4,853 793 25 87 89

Massachusetts 10,445 9,343 6,073 175 0 215 245

Michigan 8,467 7,268 4,532 450 76 346 10

Minnesota 8,478 7,014 4,502 581 291 299 264

Mississippi 5,954 5,420 3,254 282 4 112 0

Missouri 7,309 6,457 3,980 383 73 85 58

Montana 8,245 7,572 4,702 186 0 0 27

Nebraska 8,473 7,801 5,268 324000

Nevada 8,530 7,807 4,623 496 40 242 1

New Hampshire 9,445 8,489 5,344 277 0 129 187

New Jersey 11,826 10,630 6,440 370 49 156 233

New Mexico 10,238 8,205 4,423 1,201 32 133 0

New York 13,629 11,219 7,449 995 51 318 29

North Carolina 7,425 6,633 4,131 380 28 107 0

North Dakota 7,859 7,303 4,225 391 0 0 403

Ohio 7,781 6,735 4,037 455 88 105 28

Oklahoma 6,897 6,601 3,780 200 4 15 0

Oregon 8,646 7,408 4,469 301 0 98 9

Pennsylvania 9,040 7,625 4,794 485 17 392 427

Rhode Island 9,845 9,530 6,209 150 54 153 210

South Carolina 8,478 6,936 4,144 832 80 178 12

South Dakota 7,865 6,772 4,007 640 0 43 39

Tennessee 6,378 5,523 3,611 369 67 146 0

Texas 8,417 7,066 4,372 531 5 168 40

Utah 6,727 5,656 3,492 722 151 171 0

Vermont 9,293 8,818 5,736 145 0 107 4,784

Virginia 7,797 6,989 4,325 449 13 104 60

Washington 8,156 7,049 4,279 415 1 182 12

West Virginia 8,361 7,671 4,695 496 52 0 8

Wisconsin 9,478 8,294 5,126 377 134 343 99

Wyoming 11,268 9,539 5,620 1,066 3 92 0

Independent charter school districts 7,066 6,545 3,4390000 1

 Total expenditures do not include payments to other school districts. 2 Current expenditures includes instruction, support services and non-instruction services. 3 Other programs include community services, adult education, and community colleges. 4 The District of Columbia and Hawaii consist of only one school district each.

NOTE: National figures do not include independent charter school districts, i.e., those not affiliated with a non-charter school district. Charter 

schools that are affiliated with regular school districts are included in the national and state figures. Only school districts matching the Common

Core of Data (CCD), Agency Universe and with student membership > 0 were used in creating this table. Districts with current expenditures per

student between $ 2,500 and $35,000 were included in the national and state figures; 99.87 percent of the school districts met this criterion. Charter

schools with revenues > 0 and expenditures > 0 were included in the charter school analysis; 99.79 percent of the charter school districts met this 

criterion. This table reports the median school district expenditure for each category; therefore totals do not equal the sum of the detail.

SOURCE: Data reported by states to U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD),

School District Finance Survey (F-33), FY 2002, version 1a.
Table 4.—Current expenditures per student for public elementary and secondary school districts, by state: School year 2001–02

5th 95th Federal range Number of Number of

State percentile Median percentile ratio1 districts students

United States $5,463 $7,294 $13,026 1.38 14,002 46,941,294

Alabama 5,410 6,042 7,207 0.33 128 726,367

Alaska 7,740 14,549 24,377 2.15 53 133,010

Arizona 4,481 6,197 12,828 1.86 230 864,264

Arkansas 5,116 5,813 7,947 0.55 310 449,161

California 5,865 7,003 11,777 1.01 971 6,066,162

Colorado 5,568 7,101 13,175 1.37 178 741,319

Connecticut 8,424 9,737 12,869 0.53 166 543,829

Delaware 7,359 8,742 10,077 0.37 16 105,752

District of Columbia † 2 13,330 † 2 † 2 1 68,449

Florida 5,432 6,015 7,012 0.29 67 2,500,179

Georgia 6,114 6,975 8,942 0.46 179 1,466,836

Hawaii † 2 7,306 † 2 † 2 1 184,546

Idaho 5,087 6,645 11,326 1.23 114 246,415

Illinois 5,436 7,043 11,053 1.03 891 2,047,836

Indiana 6,057 6,887 9,027 0.49 292 994,348

Iowa 5,915 6,796 8,593 0.45 371 485,932

Kansas 5,903 7,397 9,932 0.68 303 470,204

Kentucky 5,554 6,221 7,353 0.32 176 654,363

Louisiana 5,725 6,525 8,050 0.41 66 725,027

Maine 7,221 9,016 15,707 1.18 224 204,949

Maryland 7,339 8,077 9,668 0.32 24 860,640

Massachusetts 7,575 9,343 14,038 0.85 302 935,424

Michigan 6,404 7,268 10,257 0.60 553 1,661,301

Minnesota 5,989 7,014 9,490 0.58 342 832,369

Mississippi 4,607 5,420 7,225 0.57 152 492,198

Missouri 5,287 6,457 9,378 0.77 522 909,918

Montana 4,946 7,572 17,000 2.44 442 151,745

Nebraska 5,063 7,801 14,147 1.79 524 283,789

Nevada 5,797 7,807 18,295 2.16 17 356,814

New Hampshire 6,542 8,489 12,341 0.89 162 203,072

New Jersey 8,620 10,630 15,157 0.76 551 1,306,347

New Mexico 5,924 8,205 12,883 1.17 89 320,068

New York 8,997 11,219 17,853 0.98 687 2,846,644

North Carolina 5,850 6,633 8,241 0.41 117 1,296,156

North Dakota 5,000 7,303 14,818 1.96 218 105,936

Ohio 5,848 6,735 9,410 0.61 611 1,796,601

Oklahoma 5,156 6,601 10,116 0.96 542 621,573

Oregon 6,393 7,408 15,451 1.42 197 549,604

Pennsylvania 6,346 7,625 10,307 0.62 500 1,766,513

Rhode Island 7,964 9,530 11,948 0.50 36 156,624

South Carolina 6,140 6,936 9,149 0.49 85 674,347

South Dakota 5,434 6,772 11,532 1.12 173 127,129

Tennessee 4,783 5,523 7,217 0.51 137 897,695

Texas 5,821 7,066 11,752 1.02 1,045 4,115,727

Utah 4,447 5,656 9,646 1.17 40 481,182

Vermont 6,577 8,818 13,512 1.05 240 96,427

Virginia 6,135 6,989 9,512 0.55 132 1,162,045

Washington 6,027 7,049 15,840 1.63 296 1,009,200

West Virginia 6,978 7,671 8,807 0.26 55 282,145

Wisconsin 7,053 8,294 10,133 0.44 426 875,216

Wyoming 7,492 9,539 16,327 1.18 48 87,897

Independent charter school districts 3,952 6,545 12,133 2.07 943 260,188

† Not applicable.

1 The federal range ratio indicates the difference between the district at the 5th percentile and the 95th percentile (when districts are ranked by expenditures per

student within the state) as a ratio of the value to expenditures per student for the district at the 5th percentile. 2

 The District of Columbia and Hawaii consist of one school district each.

NOTE: National figures do not include independent charter school districts, i.e., those not affiliated with a non-charter school districts. Charter schools that are

affiliated with regular school districts are included in the national and state figures. Only regular school districts matching the Common Core of Data (CCD),

Agency Universe and with student membership > 0 were used in creating this table. Districts with current expenditures per student between $2,500 and $35,000

per student were included in the national and state figures; 98.87 percent of school districts met this criterion. Charter schools with revenues > 0 and 

expenditures > 0 were included in the charter school analysis; 99.79 percent of the charter school districts met this criterion.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, School District Finance Survey (F-33), FY 2002,

version 1a.

Expenditures per student

9 
Table 5.—Current expenditures per student for unified school districts, by state: School year 2001–02

Percent of

Number of Percent of students

districts districts Number of in unified

State Median unified unified students districts

 United States $5,505 $7,157 $11,931 1.17 10,629 75.9 43,405,395 92.5

Alabama 5,410 6,042 7,207 0.33 128 100.0 726,367 100.0

Alaska 7,740 14,549 24,377 2.15 53 100.0 133,010 100.0

Arizona 4,619 5,938 11,382 1.46 101 43.9 551,987 63.9

Arkansas 5,116 5,813 7,947 0.55 310 100.0 449,161 100.0

California 6,105 6,984 11,077 0.81 364 37.5 4,480,470 73.9

Colorado 5,568 7,101 13,175 1.37 178 100.0 741,319 100.0

Connecticut 8,525 9,588 13,157 0.54 113 68.1 511,008 94.0

Delaware 7,359 8,742 10,077 0.37 16 100.0 105,752 100.0

District of Columbia † 2 13,330 † 2 † 2 1 100.0 68,449 100.0

Florida 5,432 6,015 7,012 0.29 67 100.0 2,500,179 100.0

Georgia 6,114 6,966 8,834 0.44 174 97.2 1,464,902 99.9

Hawaii † 2 7,306 † 2 † 2 1 100.0 184,546 100.0

Idaho 5,087 6,481 9,938 0.95 108 94.7 246,281 99.9

Illinois 5,487 6,794 8,733 0.59 405 45.5 1,298,575 63.4

Indiana 6,057 6,890 9,027 0.49 291 99.7 994,112 100.0

Iowa 5,924 6,784 8,052 0.36 350 94.3 482,404 99.3

Kansas 5,903 7,397 9,932 0.68 303 100.0 470,204 100.0

Kentucky 5,556 6,220 7,343 0.32 171 97.2 652,514 99.7

Louisiana 5,725 6,525 8,050 0.41 66 100.0 725,027 100.0

Maine 7,111 8,347 10,783 0.52 111 49.6 177,396 86.6

Maryland 7,339 8,077 9,668 0.32 24 100.0 860,640 100.0

Massachusetts 7,666 9,165 12,906 0.68 210 69.5 869,432 92.9

Michigan 6,422 7,252 9,832 0.53 524 94.8 1,659,757 99.9

Minnesota 5,989 6,978 9,164 0.53 327 95.6 830,173 99.7

Mississippi 4,607 5,391 6,680 0.45 148 97.4 490,857 99.7

Missouri 5,277 6,399 8,824 0.67 449 86.0 898,337 98.7

Montana 5,686 8,957 19,932 2.51 55 12.4 18,404 12.1

Nebraska 6,276 7,699 10,423 0.66 245 46.8 271,346 95.6

Nevada 5,797 7,665 18,295 2.16 16 94.1 356,725 100.0

New Hampshire 6,646 8,152 10,691 0.61 67 41.4 157,793 77.7

New Jersey 9,059 10,721 14,582 0.61 218 39.6 980,363 75.0

New Mexico 5,924 8,205 12,883 1.17 89 100.0 320,068 100.0

New York 8,952 11,092 16,435 0.84 638 92.9 2,796,260 98.2

North Carolina 5,850 6,633 8,241 0.41 117 100.0 1,296,156 100.0

North Dakota 5,152 7,053 11,687 1.27 164 75.2 102,500 96.8

Ohio 5,851 6,742 9,410 0.61 610 99.8 1,796,546 100.0

Oklahoma 5,115 6,514 9,586 0.87 430 79.3 599,534 96.5

Oregon 6,385 7,293 13,779 1.16 178 90.4 549,130 99.9

Pennsylvania 6,346 7,625 10,350 0.63 498 99.6 1,765,610 99.9

Rhode Island 7,964 9,461 11,948 0.50 32 88.9 154,482 98.6

South Carolina 6,140 6,936 9,149 0.49 85 100.0 674,347 100.0

South Dakota 5,434 6,689 10,170 0.87 168 97.1 126,031 99.1

Tennessee 4,804 5,523 7,207 0.50 123 89.8 875,998 97.6

Texas 5,821 7,026 11,208 0.93 979 93.7 4,105,037 99.7

Utah 4,447 5,656 9,646 1.17 40 100.0 481,182 100.0

Vermont 6,586 8,450 12,032 0.83 37 15.4 34,632 35.9

Virginia 6,135 6,989 9,512 0.55 132 100.0 1,162,045 100.0

Washington 6,104 6,962 13,784 1.26 246 83.1 999,210 99.0

West Virginia 6,978 7,671 8,807 0.26 55 100.0 282,145 100.0

Wisconsin 7,159 8,297 9,950 0.39 368 86.4 839,670 95.9

Wyoming 7,492 9,385 14,730 0.97 46 95.8 87,322 99.3

Independent charter school districts 4,009 6,154 13,933 2.48 257 27.3 85,179 32.7

† Not applicable. 1 The federal range ratio indicates the difference between the district at the 5th percentile and the 95th percentile (when districts are ranked by expenditures per student

within the state) as a ratio of the value to expenditures per student for the district at the 5th percentile. 2

 The District of Columbia and Hawaii consist of one school district each.

NOTE: National figures do not include independent charter school districts, i.e., those not affiliated with a non-charter school district. Charter schools that are

affiliated with regular school districts are included in the national and state figures. Only regular school districts matching the Common Core of Data (CCD), Agency

Universe and with student membership > 0 were used in creating this table. Districts with current expenditures per student between $2,500 and $35,000 were included

in the national and state figures; 99.87 percent of the school districts met this criterion. Charter schools with revenues > 0 and expenditures > 0 were included in the

charter school analysis; 99.79 percent of the charter school districts met this criterion.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, School District Finance Survey (F-33), FY 2002, 

version 1a.

Expenditures per student

5th

percentile

Federal range

ratio1

95th

percentile

10 
Methodology 

The “School District Finance Survey” (or F-33) is an annual agency-level collection of

revenue and expenditure data for public education in grades prekindergarten through 12. It 

is part of the Common Core of Data (CCD) collection of surveys of administrative records 

data relating to public elementary and secondary education. This survey is also a Census

Bureau survey, part of the “Survey of Local Governments.” The Census Bureau acts as the 

collection agent for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) for this survey. 

Local education agencies (LEAs) send revenue and expenditure data to their state

education agency, which may edit the data before sending them on to the Census Bureau. 

The NCES and Census Bureau edit and review the data before they are published. Every 

state and the District of Columbia reported data on all school districts with financial

activity. 

Median revenue per student or median expenditure per student data, and data for the 

school district at the 5th and 95th percentiles are shown in tables 1 through 5. These 

percentile points were chosen to exclude any outlier data.

There are many different types of LEAs. In addition to the types discussed earlier, there 

are districts whose only function is to collect and allocate funds, or that provide certain 

administrative services for a group of LEAs. Only regular education districts with students 

greater than 0 were considered in the analyses resulting in tables 1 through 5. 

In order to have comparable LEAs for analysis, those districts that did not have schools

reporting students, or that were not recognized in the CCD “Local Education Agency

Universe Survey,” were removed from consideration. School districts whose primary 

function was providing special education or vocational education services were also 

removed from consideration in this report. Charter schools that are not affiliated with a 

school district were treated separately from regular districts. Furthermore, the 0.06

percent of districts with current expenditures per student of $2,500 or less or $35,000 or 

more were removed because they are outliers representing extraordinary school districts.

Thus, regular school districts with students, school districts with current expenditures per 

student greater than $2,500 and less than $35,000, and school districts that have charter as

well as non-charter schools were included in the national and state analyses. 

Independent charter schools are not affiliated with school districts. Data for these schools 

were reported separately at the bottom of the tables. To be included, these schools must be

in the CCD Local Education Agency Universe, have students, and report revenues and 

expenditures greater than $0. 

Total expenditures in this report do not include payments to other school districts.

Payments to other school districts are primarily for services to students attending schools 

in other school districts. These children are not included in the student count of the 

district making this payment. Total expenditures on the F-33 data file include payments to

other districts. Total revenues include funds received from other school districts. The 

student counts reflect all of the students enrolled in the school district in October. 

A number of factors affecting per student expenditures are beyond the scope of this report. 

These include differences in student needs, regional costs, and urbanicity. Student

membership counts used in this report are those reported on the F-33 survey. 

11 
The F-33 file can be matched to the CCD “Local Education Agency Universe Survey” and

“Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey” files using a common

identification code. This makes it possible to match nonfiscal data on students, staff,

schools, and districts to the finance data. For more information on CCD nonfiscal data, 

readers may want to read the Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and

Districts: School Year 2001–02 (NCES 2003–411). For data and analysis of state-level 

education finance data, readers should use the CCD “National Public Education Financial

Survey.” The Statistics in Brief report with the state-level school year 2001–02 data is 

Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year

2001–02 (NCES 2004–341). The Census Bureau provides demographic data from the 

Census 2000 that have been mapped to school districts. These data can be found on the 

NCES website (http://nces.ed.gov) when they become available.

Definitions

Capital outlay expenditures are those for school construction, property, and equipment.

They do not include interest payments or other financing costs that may be attributable to 

capital outlay expenditures. 

Capital outlay and debt service revenues from state governments include funds for 

school construction, building aid, and interest and principal payments. 

Charter schools are public schools that are exempted from significant state or local rules

that normally govern the operation and management of public schools. They usually 

operate in pursuit of a specific set of education objectives determined by the school’s 

developer and agreed to by the public chartering agency. Charter schools may be affiliated 

with a regular school district, or they may be self-governing entities. 

Charter school districts include only charter schools. 

Current expenditures are those for the day-to-day operation of schools. They include all 

expenditures except those associated with repaying debts, capital outlays (e.g., purchases

of land, school construction and repair, and equipment), and programs outside the scope of 

preschool to grade 12, and transfer payments. Expenditures for items lasting more than 1 

year (e.g., school buses and computers) are not included in current expenditures. 

Enterprise operations are activities that are financed and operated in a manner similar to

private business enterprises—where the stated intent is that the costs are financed or 

recovered primarily from user charges. 

Instructional expenditures are current expenditures for activities directly associated with 

the interaction between teachers and students. These include teacher salaries and benefits, 

supplies (e.g., textbooks), and purchased instructional services. Tuition payments for 

special needs students to attend private schools are also included here. 

Interest on debt expenditures are interest expenditures on long-term and short-term debt. 

Local education agencies (LEAs) are local government agencies responsible for 

providing free elementary/secondary instruction or services that support free 

elementary/secondary education. 

Noninstructional expenditures are comprised predominantly of food services, as well as 

enterprise operations, such as bookstores and interscholastic athletics. 

12 
Other program expenditures include expenditures for community services, adult 

education, community colleges, and other programs that are not part of public elementary 

and secondary education. 

Payments to state and local governments are expenditures to other governments for

services and loans.

Payments to other school districts are expenditures made to other LEAs for tuition, 

transportation, and computer and purchasing services. 

Regular school districts are public elementary and/or secondary school districts that

provide instruction and other education services and that do not focus primarily on special 

education or vocational education. Education service agencies are also excluded from this

category.

Revenues are the total revenues for local, state and federal sources. They include revenues 

from student fees and the sale of property, but exclude revenues raised through bond sales. 

Student membership is the count of students enrolled on or about October 1. 

Support services expenditures are current expenditures for activities that support 

instruction. These services include operation and maintenance of buildings, school 

administration, student support services (e.g., nurses, therapists, and guidance 

counselors), student transportation, instructional staff support (e.g., librarians, 

instructional specialists), school district administration, business services, research, and 

data processing. 

Total expenditures for public elementary and secondary education and other 

programs include current expenditures for public elementary and secondary education, 

capital outlays, other programs, interest on debt, and payments to state and local 

governments. Payments to other school districts are excluded from total expenditures.

Unified school districts provide both elementary and secondary education services and 

instruction. 

For More Information 

This report used information from the Common Core of Data, “School District Finance

Survey: Fiscal Year 2001–02,” version 1a. The complete data file, survey form, and

documentation may be accessed from the NCES website at 

http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/f33agency.asp. For more information about this report or the data 

set, contact Frank Johnson, National Center for Education Statistics, 1990 K Street NW, 

Washington, DC 20006-5651; or call 202-502-7362; fax 202-502-7475; or e-mail 

frank.johnson@ed.gov. 

13