State and Local Expenditures on Corrections and Education

A Brief from the U.S. Department of Education,

Policy and Program Studies Service

July 2016

Over the past three decades, state and local government expenditures on prisons and jails have increased about three times as fast

as spending on elementary and secondary education. At the postsecondary level, the contrast is even starker: from 1989–90 to

2012–13, state and local spending on corrections rose by 89 percent while state and local appropriations for higher education

remained flat. This increase in corrections spending has been driven by — among other factors1 — an increase in the number of 

people incarcerated in prisons and jails. The United States has only 5 percent of the world’s population but more than 20 percent 

of the world’s incarcerated population (Lee 2015). Linkages exist between educational attainment and incarceration. For example, 

two-thirds of state prison inmates have not completed high school (BJS 2009). Young black men between the ages of 20 and 24 

who do not have a high school diploma (or an equivalent credential) have a greater chance of being incarcerated than of being 

employed (Neal and Rick 2014).

2 At the same time, researchers have estimated that a 10 percent increase in high school graduation 

rates may result in a 9 percent decline in criminal arrest rates (Lochner and Moretti 2004). 

This brief was prepared by the 

Policy and Program Studies 

Service in the U.S. Department 

of Education, Office of 

Planning, Evaluation and 

Policy Development.

Stephanie Stullich, Ivy Morgan, 

and Oliver Schak were the 

authors. 

This policy brief examines state-by-state trends to compare the extent to which state 

and local governments are investing in education and in corrections. More specifically, 

this brief uses extant data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Center for 

Education Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, and other sources to present a snapshot of 

the changes in state and local expenditures for corrections and education between two 

points in time — 1979–80 to 2012–13 — both nationally and by state.

3

Highlights

• From 1979–80 to 2012–13, public PK–12 expenditures increased by 107 percent

(from $258 to $534 billion),4 while total state and local corrections expenditures

increased by 324 percent (from $17 to $71 billion) ― triple the rate of increase in

education spending.

• Over the same 33-year period, the percentage increase in state and local

corrections expenditures varied considerably across the states, ranging from 149

percent in Massachusetts to 850 percent in Texas. PK–12 expenditure growth rates

were considerably lower, but still varied widely across states, ranging from 18

percent in Michigan to 326 percent in Nevada.

• All states had lower expenditure growth rates for PK–12 education than for

corrections, and in the majority of the states, the rate of increase for corrections

was more than 100 percentage points higher than the rate for education.

• When expenditures were adjusted for population change, the increases in both

state and local corrections expenditures and PK–12 education expenditures were

smaller. However, even after accounting for changes in population, growth in

corrections expenditures outpaced PK–12 spending growth in all but two states.

o In 24 states, the growth rate in per capita corrections spending was more than

100 percentage points higher than the rate for per-pupil PK–12 education

spending.

o After adjusting for population change, a few states had similar growth rates

for corrections and education spending, and two states actually increased perpupil expenditures on PK–12 education faster than per capita corrections

spending.

• From 1989–90 to 2012–13, 46 states reduced higher education appropriations per

full-time equivalent (FTE) student. On average, state and local higher education

funding per FTE student fell by 28 percent, while per capita spending on

corrections increased by 44 percent.

1
POLICY CONTEXT

Over the past three decades, state and local government expenditures on prisons and jails have increased at a much 

faster pace than state and local spending on elementary and secondary education and postsecondary education. All 

too often, children growing up in poor communities not only do poorly in school but also are disproportionately 

arrested and incarcerated during their teen-age and young adult years. Researchers at Columbia University found that 

a disproportionate number of the upwards of two million people in U.S. prisons and jails come from disadvantaged 

neighborhoods in the country’s biggest cities; the authors coined the term “million dollar blocks” to refer to places 

where the concentration of incarcerated individuals is so dense that states are spending over a million dollars a year 

to incarcerate the residents of a single city block (Columbia University 2006). Incarceration in the U.S. occurs 

disproportionately among people of color. Even for offenses for which there are few differences by race or ethnicity 

in the likelihood of committing a crime, individuals of color — black youth in particular — are more likely than white 

individuals to be arrested and receive longer sentences for the same offenses (CEA 2015). For example, black males 

are six times more likely to be incarcerated than white males, and black students are about two times more likely to 

receive a referral to law enforcement or be subject to a school-related arrest than white students (Pew Research 

Center 2013; OCR 2016). Additionally, children with incarcerated parents face an increased risk of a variety of adverse 

outcomes, including antisocial and violent behavior and lower educational attainment (Johnson 2009).

Dramatic growth in incarceration rates 

According to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of people incarcerated in state and local 

correctional facilities more than quadrupled over the past few decades, rising from about 490,000 in 1980 to over 2 

million in 2014, due in part to the enactment of additional, often lengthy mandatory minimum sentence laws (BJS 

n.d.; CEA 2016). 

Incarceration rates have increased despite large decreases in crime rates, which declined by more than 50 percent 

between 1980 and 2014 (Cassell 2004; FBI n.d.). However, a large body of economic research finds that incarceration 

has a limited capacity to reduce crime, and that the effectiveness of incarceration declines as the incarcerated 

population grows.5 Because the U.S. has the largest incarcerated population in the world, the impact of incarceration 

in the U.S. is particularly weak relative to investing in other crime control policies (CEA 2016). Researchers who study 

crime and incarceration suggest that the impact of incarceration on crime reduction is small, with a 10 percent 

increase in incarceration decreasing crime by just 2 percent or less, though some studies have found a range of 

estimates for the effect of incarceration on crime (Donohue 2009; Levitt 1996; Johnson and Raphael 2012). 

Linkages between education and incarceration 

Researchers have found connections between poor educational outcomes and incarceration. Among state prison 

inmates, available data suggests that two-thirds have not completed high school (BJS 2009). Young black males 

between the ages of 20 and 24 who do not have a high school diploma (or an equivalent credential) have a higher 

chance of being incarcerated than of being employed (Neal and Rick 2014).

6

 Researchers have estimated that a 10 

percent increase in high school graduation rates may result in 9 percent decline in criminal arrest rates (Lochner and 

Moretti 2004). A variety of studies have suggested that investing more in education, particularly targeted toward atrisk communities, could achieve crime reduction without the heavy social costs that high incarceration rates impose 

on individuals, families, and communities (Belfield et al. 2006; Reynolds et al. 2001; Heckman et al. 2010).

Redirecting investments to education 

Investments in education can reduce criminal activity by altering student behavior and improving labor market 

outcomes (CEA 2016). Investments in early childhood education can lead to reduced incarceration later in life, in part 

through improving educational attainment (Currie 2001). Though many factors contribute to student success, 

research indicates that teacher effectiveness is perhaps the most important in-school factor related to students’ 

success in school (Rivkin et al. 2005). Further, research suggests that investing more in teacher salaries could result 

2
in an overall improvement in the quality of the teaching workforce and that higher salaries are associated with 

higher teacher retention (Dee and Wyckoff 2015; Kelly 2004; Guarino et al. 2006). Evidence also shows that 

education provides a pathway to help justice-involved people restore full participation in their communities. For 

example, one study found that incarcerated individuals who participated in high-quality correctional education — 

including postsecondary correctional education — were 43 percent less likely to return to prison within three years 

than those who did not participate in correctional education programs (Davis et al. 2013). Furthermore, researchers 

estimate that for every dollar invested in correctional education programs, four to five dollars are saved on threeyear recidivism costs (Davis et al. 2013). King et al. (2005) have also suggested that “investments in drug treatment, 

interventions with at-risk families, and school completion programs are more cost-effective than expanded 

incarceration as crime control measures.” 

DATA SOURCES AND METHODS

Data

This policy brief is based on state-level data that were collected or reported by several federal statistical agencies — 

including the National Center for Education Statistics, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Census Bureau, and Bureau of 

Economic Analysis — as well as the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. The analyses are based 

on education, corrections, and population indicators, including state and local current expenditures for corrections, 

current expenditures for public education for preschool through grade 12 (PK–12), state and local appropriations for 

higher education, incarceration in state and local correctional facilities, resident population of school-aged children 

and adults, and enrollment in PK–12 public schools. Data for the District of Columbia are not included in these 

analyses because it does not have comparable data for state prisoners — as of 2001, adults sentenced for felony 

offenses from the District are the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. 

PK–12 current operating expenditure and enrollment data are based on school years — i.e., 1980 data are based on

the 1979–80 school year and 2013 data are based on the 2012–13 school year. State and local higher education 

appropriations and enrollment data are based on the 1989–90 and 2012–13 fiscal years.

7 Corrections current 

expenditure data are based on the state government’s fiscal year (FY).

8 State prisoner data are based on counts

from December 31 in 1979 and 2012. Local jail inmate data are based on an April 1 estimate from the 1980 Census

and an averaged count across multiple points in time during 2013. School-aged and adult population data are based

on Census estimates from April 1 in 1980 and 1990 and July 1 in 2013. Both PK–12 and corrections expenditure data 

exclude expenditures for capital outlay, which tend to have dramatic increases and decreases from year to year. To

allow for comparisons across states, the State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) appropriations measure excludes

funding for research, agricultural, and medical education, as well as support for independent institutions or students

attending them, which can vary substantially among states. See Appendix B for more detailed information about the

specific variables used. 

Methods

This brief consists of two comparisons of education and corrections data. First, it examines changes in state and 

local expenditures for PK–12 education and corrections between 1979–80 and 2012–13. Second, it examines state 

and local appropriations for higher education and state and local expenditures for corrections between 1989–90 

and 2012–13.9 Specifically, the analyses begin by comparing total expenditures (or appropriations) and the percent 

change in these indicators, and then calculate the percentage point difference in the indicators to identify which 

states have increased their corrections expenditures faster than their education expenditures. 

In order to account for inflation growth over time, the PK–12 and corrections expenditure data for 1979–80 and 

1989–90 have been converted to constant 2012–13 dollars, using the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

10 The higher 

education appropriations data are available from SHEF in current 2015 dollars and were deflated to 2013 dollars 

using the Higher Education Cost Adjustment (HECA), the inflation measure used in the SHEF report.

11 In order to 

account for population growth, some analyses discuss corrections expenditures in terms of spending per capita, PK–

12 education expenditures in terms of spending per pupil, and higher education appropriations in terms of 

appropriations per full-time student equivalent. 

3
Limitations

Where possible, these analyses incorporate data from the same collection to compare 1980 or 1990 and 2013 data.

As noted above, local jail inmate data are based on different kinds of counts in 1980 and 2012 — the data from 1980 

are based on the 1980 Census, whereas, the data from 2013 are an averaged count across multiple points in time

during the year. Additionally, the higher education data are based on state and local appropriations, which do not

reflect all expenditures at public higher education institutions; the analyses use appropriations data to better reflect

revenue from state and local investments, rather than tuition, fee, and other revenue sources. Finally, changes to

data definitions and collection procedures may limit the comparability of variables across time. For example, PK–12 

current expenditures data for 1979–80 include expenditures for state administration, while data for 2012–13 do not 

include that expense category. 

Many different factors may contribute to different rates of change in corrections and education expenditures. This 

brief does not identify specific policies, demographic characteristics, or trends that may have contributed to the 

differences observed across states. Additionally, these analyses do not control for differences in cost of living across 

states; for this reason, comparisons across time (within states) are appropriate, as are comparisons of rates of 

change across states, however, it is not appropriate to compare expenditures in each year across states. Finally, 

readers should note that education expenditures are much higher overall than corrections expenditures, and an 

increase in a small value yields a larger percentage change than the same increase would yield for a large value 

(i.e., a $1 million increase from $2 million represents a 50 percent increase while a $1 million increase from $20 

million represents a 5 percent increase). As a result, a large percentage change for corrections spending 

represents a smaller dollar amount than would the same percentage increase in education spending. 

4
CHANGE IN TOTAL STATE AND LOCAL SPENDING ON CORRECTIONS AND PK–12 EDUCATION

Over the last three decades, state and local corrections expenditures has increased

three times faster than spending on elementary and secondary education. 

Total PK–12 expenditures increased by 107 percent from 1979–80 to 2012–13 — from about $258 billion to $534 billion, 

while state and local corrections expenditures increased by 324 percent — from about $17 billion to about $71 billion.

Exhibit 1 

Percentage change in PK–12 current expenditures and state and local corrections 

current expenditures from 1979–80 to 2012–13 

107%

324%

0%

50%

100%

150%

200%

250%

300%

350%

PK-12 Expenditures State and Local Corrections Expenditures

Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education and National Public Education 

Financial Survey; U.S. Census Bureau, and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. See Exhibit A.1 for more detailed information.

The magnitude of spending increases varied considerably among states, ranging as high

as 850 percent for corrections expenditures and 326 percent for education expenditures. 

Growth rates for state and local corrections expenditures ranged from 149 percent in Massachusetts to 850 percent 

in Texas. PK–12 current expenditures growth rates were considerably lower, ranging from 18 percent in Michigan to 

326 percent in Nevada.12

All states had lower expenditure growth rates for education than for corrections, and in 

the majority of states, the rate of increase for corrections was more than 100 

percentage points higher than the rate for education. 

In 47 states, the rates of increase in state and local spending on corrections were more than 100 percentage points 

higher than rates of increase in spending on public PK–12 education; 12 states had increases in state and local 

spending on corrections that were 300 percentage points or more greater than the increase in spending on PK–12

education. In three states, the difference in percentage change between corrections expenditures and PK–12 

expenditures was less than 100 percentage points (Exhibit 2).

5
 Exhibit 2 

States by percentage point difference in percent change between state and local corrections current expenditures

and public PK–12 current expenditures from 1979–80 to 2012–13 

300 or more percentage points 200–299 percentage points 150–199 percentage points Less than 150 percentage points

12 states 14 states 12 states 12 states 

Texas (668) Florida (292) Virginia (199) Minnesota (149)

New Mexico (602) Wisconsin (280) Louisiana (197) New Jersey (148)

Wyoming (598) Oklahoma (272) Washington (195) Nevada (148)

Idaho (595) Oregon (262) Missouri (184) Maine (135)

South Dakota (507) Hawaii (260) Indiana (181) New Hampshire (128)

West Virginia (426) California (255) Alabama (171) North Carolina (123)

Colorado (410) Montana (254) Tennessee (171) Iowa (118)

Arkansas (385) Kansas (247) Ohio (166) South Carolina (112)

Utah (383) Pennsylvania (247) Rhode Island (158) Illinois (104)

Mississippi (355) Georgia (244) Kentucky (157) New York (88)

North Dakota (338) Nebraska (242) Vermont (156) Connecticut (87)

Arizona (303) Delaware (239) Maryland (150) Massachusetts (63)

Alaska (221)

Michigan (201)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education and National Public Education 

Financial Survey; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances; and Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI Inflation Calculator. See 

Exhibit A.4 for more detailed information.

CHANGE IN CORRECTIONS SPENDING PER CAPITA AND PUBLIC PK–12 EDUCATION SPENDING

PER PUPIL

When expenditures were adjusted for population change, most states had lower 

expenditure growth rates for education than for corrections, but two states — 

Massachusetts and New Hampshire — had larger expenditure growth rates for education. 

The population of the U.S. increased from 1980 to 2013, both overall and for school-age children, which would 

account for at least part of the increase in spending. Across the nation, the total adult population (aged 18 and over) 

increased 49 percent during this time period and the number of people incarcerated in state and local correctional 

facilities increased 345 percent. Meanwhile the population of school-age children (aged 5–17) increased 13 percent 

and enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools increased 20 percent. Again, rates of change varied 

significantly across states, from 6 percent to 264 percent for the adult population, 132 percent to 978 percent for 

people incarcerated in state and local correctional facilities, negative 33 percent to 201 percent for the school-age 

population, and negative 27 percent to 202 percent for public school enrollments. (Rates of change for individual 

states are provided in Appendix Exhibits A.5 and A.6.)

Due to these population changes, this brief also examines the percentage change in corrections expenditures per 

capita (based on total population in each state) and public PK–12 expenditures per pupil, based on fall enrollment. 

The population-adjusted figures showed smaller percentage increases, but the gap between corrections and 

education continued to be very large in most states. The increase in state and local corrections expenditures per 

capita ranged from 57 percent in Nevada to 493 percent in Wyoming, while the increase in PK–12 current 

expenditures per pupil ranged from 28 percent in Oregon to 201 percent in Vermont. (Rates of change for individual 

states are provided in Appendix Exhibit A.3.)

All but two states (Massachusetts and New Hampshire) had lower expenditure growth rates for education than for 

corrections (Exhibit 3). Twenty-four states had increases in state and local per capita spending on corrections that 

were 100 percentage points greater than their rate of increase in per-pupil spending on public PK–12 education. In 

four states this differential was greater than 300 percentage points (Exhibit 4). 

6
Exhibit 3 

Percentage change in PK–12 current expenditures per pupil and 

state and local corrections current expenditures per capita from 1979–80 to 2012–13, by state 

0% 100% 200% 300% 400% 500% 600%

Nevada

North Carolina

Massachusetts

South Carolina

Washington

Alaska

Arizona

Minnesota

Iowa

Illinois

New York

Maryland

Tennessee

Maine

Oregon

Alabama

Virginia

New Hampshire

Michigan

Delaware

Florida

Kentucky

California

Montana

Indiana

Connecticut

Georgia

Ohio

Missouri

Utah

Hawaii

Rhode Island

New Jersey

Vermont

Colorado

Louisiana

Oklahoma

Wisconsin

Kansas

Nebraska

Pennsylvania

Mississippi

North Dakota

Idaho

Arkansas

New Mexico

Texas

South Dakota

West Virginia

Wyoming

PK–12 Expenditures per Pupil 

State and Local Corrections

Expenditures per Capita

Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education and National Public Education 

Financial Survey; and U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. See Exhibit A.3 for more detailed information.

7
Exhibit 4 

States by percentage point difference in percent change between state and local corrections current 

expenditures per capita and PK–12 current expenditures per pupil from 1979–80 to 2012–13 

150 or more percentage points 100–149 percentage points 70–99 percentage points Less than 70 percentage points

16 states 8 states 12 states 14 states 

Wyoming (369) California (138) Delaware (95) Virginia (68)

South Dakota (344) Oregon (135) Indiana (94) Minnesota (66)

West Virginia (334) Michigan (130) Arizona (92) Tennessee (66)

Texas (326) Montana (120) Ohio (91) Illinois (56)

New Mexico (286) Florida (115) Rhode Island (85) Maryland (45)

Idaho (284) Hawaii (104) Georgia (84) North Carolina (23)

Mississippi (230) Missouri (104) New Jersey (79) New York (21)

Arkansas (226) Louisiana (102) Washington (76) Nevada (16)

North Dakota (220) Kentucky (74) Connecticut (15)

Colorado (187) Iowa (73) Vermont (12)

Oklahoma (183) Alabama (72) South Carolina (5)

Kansas (180) Alaska (71) Maine (4)

Wisconsin (172) New Hampshire (-1) 

Pennsylvania (172) Massachusetts (-2) 

Nebraska (163)

Utah (154)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education and National Public Education 

Financial Survey; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances; and Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI Inflation Calculator; 

and U.S. Census Bureau, State Population Estimates. See Exhibit A.4 for more detailed information.

Exhibit 5 compares the number of states with various degrees of difference between state and local corrections 

expenditures and PK–12 current expenditures, in total and adjusted for population change.

Exhibit 5 

Number of states by percentage point difference in percent change between PK–12 current expenditures and state

and local corrections current expenditures from 1979–80 to 2012–13, in total and per pupil or per capita spending 

Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education and National Public Education 

Financial Survey; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances; and U.S. Census Bureau, State Population Estimates. See 

Exhibit A.4 for more detailed information.

8
CHANGE IN TOTAL STATE AND LOCAL SPENDING ON CORRECTIONS AND HIGHER EDUCATION

APPROPRIATIONS

Between 1989–90 and 2012–13, state and local higher education appropriations were 

nearly flat, while corrections expenditures grew by 90 percent.

Total state and local appropriations for higher education increased by 5 percent from 1989–90 to 2012–13 — from 

about $67 billion to $71 billion — while corrections expenditures increased by 89 percent ― from about $37 

billion to $71 billion. 

Exhibit 6 

Percentage change in state and local appropriations for higher education and state and local corrections

current expenditures from 1989–90 to 2012–13 

5%

89%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

State and Local Appropriations for Higher Education State and Local Corrections Expenditures

Sources: State Higher Education Executive Officers, State Higher Education Finance: FY 2015; and U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local 

Government Finances. See Exhibit A.8 for more detailed information.

The magnitude of spending increases varied considerably among states, ranging as high 

as 86 percent and as low as negative 42 percent for higher education appropriations and

as high as 302 percent and as low as 17 percent for corrections expenditures. 

Higher education state and local appropriation growth rates were considerably lower than growth rates for 

corrections expenditures, ranging from negative 42 percent in New Hampshire to 86 percent in Arkansas.

13 State 

and local corrections expenditures ranged from 17 percent in New York to 302 percent in Wyoming (Exhibit A.9). 

In all states, growth in funding for corrections outpaced that for higher education; in 

nearly half of the states, the rate of increase for corrections was more 100 percentage 

points higher than the rate for higher education.

In 23 states, the rates of increase in state and local expenditures on corrections were 100 percentage points greater 

than the rates of increase in higher education appropriations. Across all states, the difference in percentage point

change between corrections expenditures and higher education appropriations ranged from 10 percentage points in 

New York to 284 percentage points in Montana (Exhibit 7).

9
Exhibit 7 

States by percentage point difference in change between state and local corrections current expenditures and 

state and local appropriations for higher education from 1989–90 to 2012–13 

150 or more percentage points 101–149 percentage points 75–100 percentage points Less than 75 percentage points

13 states 10 states 11 states 16 states

Montana (284) Texas (140) Oklahoma (99) Rhode Island (74)

Idaho (270) Virginia (139) New Mexico (98) Michigan (73)

West Virginia (264) Minnesota (137) Alabama (98) Kansas (69)

Wyoming (252) Arkansas (135) Indiana (94) Florida (67)

Vermont (208) New Hampshire (134) California (94) Georgia (67)

Oregon (208) Washington (132) Missouri (92) Arizona (64)

Wisconsin (204) Louisiana (131) Connecticut (86) Nevada (63)

North Dakota (201) Delaware (120) Maine (83) New Jersey (61)

Mississippi (180) Iowa (104) Tennessee (79) Hawaii (56)

Pennsylvania (172) Nebraska (102) Kentucky (77) Maryland (51)

Colorado (172) Ohio (76) South Carolina (46)

South Dakota (164) North Carolina (45)

Utah (162) Illinois (43)

Alaska (37)

Massachusetts (30)

New York (10)

Sources: State Higher Education Executive Officers, State Higher Education Finance: FY 2015; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local 

Government Finances. See Exhibit A.13 for more detailed information.

CHANGE IN CORRECTIONS SPENDING PER CAPITA AND HIGHER EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS

PER FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDENT

When expenditures were adjusted for population change, growth in all states’ corrections 

spending outpaced growth in higher education appropriations. 

The increase in state and local corrections expenditures per capita ranged from negative 2 percent in South Carolina

to 266 percent in West Virginia, while the increase in higher education appropriations per full-time equivalent 

student (FTE) ranged from negative 61 percent in New Hampshire to 26 percent in Wyoming. (Rates of change for 

individual states are provided in Exhibit A.11.)

All states had lower growth rates for state and local higher education funding per FTE student than for corrections 

spending per capita (Exhibit 9). Seventeen states had increases in state and local per capita spending on corrections 

that were at least 100 percentage points greater than the rate of increase in per-FTE funding for higher education 

(Exhibit 10). Indeed, 46 states reduced higher education appropriations per FTE student (Exhibit A.11). 

10
Exhibit 8 

Percentage change in state and local higher education appropriations per FTE student and state and local

corrections current expenditures per capita from 1989–90 to 2012–13, by state 

-100% -50% 0% 50% 100% 150% 200% 250% 300%

State and Local Appropriations for Higher

Education per FTE Student

State and Local Corrections

Expenditures per Capita

West Virginia

Wyoming

North Dakota

Montana

Arkansas

Mississippi

Wisconsin

Vermont

South Dakota

Idaho

Louisiana

Pennsylvania

Oregon

Nebraska

Texas

Oklahoma

Kentucky

Virginia

New Mexico

Iowa

Utah

Minnesota

Indiana

Alabama

Missouri

Delaware

Colorado

Connecticut

New Hampshire

Washington

California

Kansas

Illinois

Maine

Georgia

New Jersey

Ohio

Maryland

Tennessee

Michigan

North Carolina

Rhode Island

Hawaii

Florida

Massachusetts

Alaska

New York

Arizona

Nevada

South Carolina

Sources: State Higher Education Executive Officers, State Higher Education Finance: FY 2015; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local 

Government Finances; and U.S. Census Bureau, State Population Estimates. See Exhibit A.12 for more detailed information.

11
Exhibit 9 

States by percentage point difference in percent change between state and local corrections current expenditures

per capita and state and local higher education appropriations per FTE student from 1989–90 to 2012–13 

150 or more percentage points 100-149 percentage points 75-99 percentage points Less than 75 percentage points

12 states 5 states 16 states 17 states

West Virginia (264) Louisiana (133) Colorado (98) Rhode Island (74)

Montana (211) New Hampshire (112) Utah (96) Michigan (72)

Vermont (182) Virginia (108) Washington (93) California (69)

Idaho (168) Minnesota (101) Connecticut (92) Kansas (68)

Wisconsin (165) Iowa (100) Indiana (92) Georgia (68)

Pennsylvania (164) Texas (92) Tennessee (61)

Wyoming (161) Oklahoma (88) Maryland (57)

North Dakota (161) Nebraska (87) Florida (52)

Mississippi (155) Missouri (82) North Carolina (51)

South Dakota (154) Delaware (82) Hawaii (49)

Arkansas (153) Maine (79) Illinois (44)

Oregon (151) Alabama (78) South Carolina (43)

New Mexico (77) Massachusetts (42)

New Jersey (77) Arizona (32)

Kentucky (77) Nevada (27)

Ohio (76) New York (23)

Alaska (22)

Sources: State Higher Education Executive Officers, State Higher Education Finance: FY 2015; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local 

Government Finances; and U.S. Census Bureau, State Population Estimates. See Exhibit A.12 for more detailed information. 

Exhibit 10 compares the number of states with various degrees of difference between the growth of state and local 

corrections expenditures and higher education appropriations, for total funding and funding adjusted for 

population.

Exhibit 10

Number of states by percentage point difference in change between state and local higher education appropriations 

per FTE student and state and local current corrections expenditures per capita from 1989–90 to 2012–13

6 8

21

25

10

5

13 12

0

10

20

30

40

50

Total Higher Education Appropriations

vs. Corrections Expenditures

Higher Education Appropriations per FTE

Student vs. Corrections Expenditures per Capita

150 or more percentage points

100–149 percentage points

50–99 percentage points

Less than 50 percentage points

Sources: State Higher Education Executive Officers, State Higher Education Finance: FY 2015; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local 

Government Finances; U.S. Census Bureau, State Population Estimates. See Exhibit A.10 for more detailed data. 

12
CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

From 1979–80 to 2012–13, state and local government expenditures on corrections rose by 324 percent (from $17

billion to $71 billion) and considerably outpaced funding growth for elementary and secondary education — which 

grew by 107 percent from $258 billion to $535 billion (in constant 2012–13 dollars). The same was true for 

postsecondary education between 1989–90 and 2012–13: during that time period, state and local appropriations 

for higher education rose from $67 billion to $71 billion (a 5 percent increase) while state and local expenditures for 

corrections increased from $37 billion to $71 billion (an 89 percent increase) (in constant 2012–13 dollars). There 

was a similar trend in terms of per person funding — from 1979–80 to 2012–13, per capita corrections expenditures 

increased more than twice as fast as per-pupil PK–12 expenditures (185 percent versus 73 percent) and from 1989–

90 to 2012–13, per capita corrections expenditures increased by 44 percent while higher education appropriations 

per FTE student decreased by 28 percent.

While findings varied widely across states, the increases in corrections expenditures nearly always outpaced those 

for education funding. In all states, increases in corrections expenditures outpaced increases in PK–12 education 

expenditures; and in all except two states (Massachusetts and New Hampshire), the rate of increase for corrections 

expenditures per capita outpaced the rate of increase for PK–12 education expenditures per pupil. At the 

postsecondary level, increases in corrections expenditures outpaced changes in higher education appropriations, 

both in total funding and in funding per person; in fact, 46 states actually had declines in higher education funding 

per FTE student.

Reducing incarceration rates and redirecting some of the funds currently spent on corrections in order to

make investments in education that we know work — including significantly increasing teacher salaries for

great teachers willing to work in hard-to-staff schools,

14 increasing access to high-quality preschool (Heckman 

et al. 2010; Belfield et al. 2006; Reynolds et al. 2001), providing greater educational opportunity for students 

seeking a higher education, and for those individuals who are incarcerated, providing access to high-quality 

correctional education — could provide a more positive and potentially more effective approach to both 

reducing crime and increasing opportunity among at-risk youth, particularly if in the PK–12 context the 

redirected funds are focused on high-poverty schools (Trostel 2015; Lochner and Moretti 2004). 

13
REFERENCES

Belfield, Clive R., Milagros Nores, Steve Barnett, and Lawrence Schweinhart. 2006. “The High/Scope Perry Preschool 

Program: Cost-Benefit Analysis Using Data from the Age-40 Followup.” The Journal of Human Resources 41(1): 

162–190. 

Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). (n.d.) “Key Statistics, Total adult correctional population, 1980–2014.” Accessed 

June 13, 2016. http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=kfdetail&iid=487. 

Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). December 2009. “Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 

2004.” Unpublished analysis performed and verified by BJS Corrections Unit statisticians.

Cassell, Paul. 2004. "Too Severe?: A Defense of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines (and a Critique of Federal 

Mandatory Minimums)." Stanford Law Review: 1017–1048.

Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture, Preservation and Planning, Spatial Information Design Lab. 

“Million Dollar Blocks.“ Accessed May 26, 2016. http://spatialinformationdesignlab.org/projects/million-dollarblocks.

Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). 2015. Economic Costs of Youth Disadvantage and High-Return Opportunities for 

Change. Washington, DC: Executive Office of the President.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/mbk_report_final_update1.pdf. 

Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). 2016. Economic Perspectives on Incarceration and the Criminal Justice System. 

Washington, DC: Executive Office of the President. 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/page/files/20160423_cea_incarceration_criminal_justice.pdf. 

Currie, Janet. 2001. “Early Childhood Education Programs.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 15(2): 213–238.

Davis, Lois M., Robert Bozick, Jennifer L. Steele, Jessica Saunders and Jeremy N. V. Miles. 2013. Evaluating the 

Effectiveness of Correctional Education: A Meta-Analysis of Programs That Provide Education to Incarcerated 

Adults. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR266.html. 

Dee, Thomas S., and James Wyckoff. 2015. “Incentives, Selection, and Teacher Performance: Evidence from 

IMPACT.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 34(2): 267–297. 

Donohue, John. 2009. “Assessing the Relative Benefits of Incarceration: The Overall Change Over the Previous 

Decades and the Benefits on the Margin.” In Do Prisons Make Us Safer? The Benefits and Costs of the Prison 

Boom, edited by Stephen Raphael and Michael Stoll. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. 

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). (n.d.) “Uniform Crime Reports as prepared by the National Archive of Criminal 

Justice Data.” Accessed June 13, 2016. 

http://www.ucrdatatool.gov/Search/Crime/State/RunCrimeStatebyState.cfm. 

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). (n.d.) “Crime in the United States by Volume and Rate per 100,000 

Inhabitants, 1995–2014.” Accessed June 13, 2016.

https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.-2014/tables/table-1. 

Guarino, Cassandra M., Lucrecia Santibañez, and Glenn A. Daley. 2006. “Teacher Recruitment and Retention: A 

Review of the Recent Empirical Literature.” Review of Educational Research 76(2): 173–208. 

Heckman, James J., Seong Hyeok Moon, Rodrigo Pinto, Peter A. Savelyev, and Adam Yavitz. 2010. "The Rate of 

Return to the HighScope Perry Preschool Program." Journal of Public Economics 94(1): 114–128.

Johnson, Rucker, and Steven Raphael. 2012. “How Much Crime Reduction Does the Marginal Prisoner Buy?” 

Journal of Law and Economics 55(2): 275–310.

Kelly, Sean. 2004. "An Event History Analysis of Teacher Attrition: Salary, Teacher Tracking, and Socially 

Disadvantaged Schools." The Journal of Experimental Education 72(3): 195–220.

King, Ryan, Marc Mauer, and Malcolm Young. 2005. Incarceration and Crime: A Complex Relationship. Washington, 

DC: The Sentencing Project.

14
Lee, Michelle Y. M. April 30, 2015. “Does the United States Really have 5 Percent of the World’s Population and One 

Quarter of the World’s Prisoners?” Washington Post. Accessed May 26, 2016. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/04/30/does-the-united-states-really-have-fivepercent-of-worlds-population-and-one-quarter-of-the-worlds-prisoners/. 

Levitt, Steven D. 1996. “The Effect of Prison Population Size on Crime Rates: Evidence from Prison Overcrowding 

Litigation.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 111(2): 319–351.

Lochner, Lance, and Enrico Moretti. 2004. “The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, 

and Self-Reports.” The American Economic Review 94(1): 155–189.

Neal, Derek, and Armin Rick. 2014. The Prison Boom and the Lack of Black Progress After Smith and Welch. Working 

Paper 20283. National Bureau of Economic Research. http://www.nber.org/papers/w20283. 

Office for Civil Rights (OCR). 2016. 2013–14 Civil Rights Data Collection: First Look. Washington, DC: U.S. Department 

of Education. http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/2013-14-first-look.pdf. 

Pew Charitable Trusts. 2014. Managing Prison Health Care Spending. Washington, DC: Author. 

http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2014/05/15/managing-prison-health-carespending. 

Pew Research Center. 2013. King’s Dream Remains and Elusive Goal; Many Americans See Racial Disparities. 

Washington, DC: Author. 

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/files/2013/08/final_full_report_racial_disparities.pdf. 

Reynolds, Arthur J., Judy A. Temple, Dylan L. Robertson, and Emily A. Mann. 2001. “Long-term Effects of an Early 

Childhood Intervention on Educational Achievement and Juvenile Arrest.” Journal of the American Medical 

Association 285(18): 2339–2346. 

Rivkin, Steven, Eric Hanushek, and John Kain. 2005. "Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement." 

Econometrica 73(2): 417–458.

Trostel, Philip. 2015. It’s Not Just the Money: The Benefits of College Education to Individuals and Society. Orono, 

Maine: University of Maine. https://www.luminafoundation.org/files/resources/its-not-just-the-money.pdf. 

15
ENDNOTES

1

In addition, increases in services provided to individuals under supervision of the corrections system, especially in healthcare due to

an aging prison population, have led to the rapid rise of spending on corrections (Pew Research Center 2014). 

2 Note that this statistic includes individuals incarcerated in federal, state, and local correctional facilities. 

3 This brief makes comparisons of the systemic ways in which education and corrections expenditures have changed over time, 

recognizing that the corrections system and the PK–12 and postsecondary education systems do not serve the same populations in the 

same way. The corrections system provides medical and other wrap-around supports that the education system does not necessarily 

provide. Understanding the reasons these changes have occurred over time and across states would require a comprehensive 

examination of individual state and local education and correctional policies. Such an examination is beyond the scope of this brief. 

4 All elementary and secondary expenditure dollar amounts are in constant 2012–13 dollars.

5 See CEA (2016) for a more comprehensive summary of the research in this area.

6 Note that this statistic includes individuals incarcerated in federal, state, and local prisons.

7 The period covered for higher education is shorter than for the PK–12 spending analysis, because national data (from the State Higher 

Education Executives) on state and local appropriations for higher education began in fiscal year 1990.

8 For most states, FY 1980 and FY 2013 correspond to July 1 of 1979 and 2012 through June 30 of 1980 and 2013, respectively.

9 The brief compares recent (2012–13) data to 1979–80 because 1980 coincides with a sharp increase in incarceration rates; the higher 

education analyses compare 2012–13 data to 1989–90 because the SHEF data on state and local appropriations are only available 

beginning in FY 1990. 

10 The data are adjusted to 2012–13 dollars using the school year CPI, which is calculated by adding the monthly CPI-U figures, 

beginning with July of the first year and ending with June of the following year, and then dividing that figure by 12.

11 This adjustor is described in further detail in the Technical Notes section.

12 Growth rates for individual states are provided in Appendix Exhibit A.1, and Exhibit A.2 displays a visual comparison of the growth 

rates for correctional and education expenditures in each state.

13 Growth rates for individual states are provided in Appendix Exhibit A.9, and Exhibit A.10 displays a visual comparison of the growth 

rates for correctional and education expenditures in each state.

14 See the section on “Redirecting investments to education.”

16
APPENDIX A:

SUPPLEMENTAL EXHIBITS

17
Exhibit A.1 

Change in PK–12 current expenditures and state and local corrections current expenditures 

from 1979–80 to 2012–13, by state 

PK–12 Expenditures 

(in constant 2013 dollars)

State and Local Corrections Expenditures 

(in constant 2013 dollars)

1979–80 2012–13 Change 1979–80 2012–13 Change

Total (50 states) $258,329,682,166 $534,101,927,374 107% $16,619,181,455 $70,547,349,000 324%

Alabama 3,417,288,344 6,532,358,451 91 188,039,084 680,275,000 262

Alaska 1,126,309,615 2,395,354,450 113 74,883,058 324,452,000 333

Arizona 2,830,333,184 8,164,529,035 188 234,030,418 1,383,473,000 491

Arkansas 1,987,556,645 4,637,168,808 133 87,151,984 539,075,000 519

California 27,333,699,556 58,323,458,467 113 2,722,506,379 12,763,436,000 369

Colorado 3,704,376,647 7,506,977,869 103 191,066,829 1,171,292,000 513

Connecticut 3,659,207,682 9,543,010,253 161 185,017,299 643,930,000 248

Delaware 801,961,460 1,761,558,838 120 61,049,599 280,152,000 359

Florida 8,244,276,335 23,214,633,617 182 677,189,835 3,886,503,000 474

Georgia 4,792,040,677 15,536,733,145 224 371,628,932 2,109,958,000 468

Hawaii 1,048,654,875 2,169,636,174 107 42,945,708 200,482,000 367

Idaho 935,525,348 1,925,675,926 106 38,928,581 311,749,000 701

Illinois 13,646,811,768 25,783,910,875 89 681,817,875 1,995,482,000 193

Indiana 5,516,985,132 9,811,165,842 78 273,632,494 982,587,000 259

Iowa 3,536,330,336 5,143,771,432 45 154,474,619 406,800,000 163

Kansas 2,473,856,863 4,895,863,088 98 113,987,464 507,132,000 345

Kentucky 3,142,364,698 6,354,306,136 102 207,016,134 744,106,000 259

Louisiana 3,885,723,024 7,492,133,677 93 327,938,207 1,279,578,000 290

Maine 1,148,794,265 2,350,468,900 105 55,321,916 187,730,000 239

Maryland 5,313,636,878 12,108,545,690 128 457,880,936 1,732,240,000 278

Massachusetts 7,863,619,703 14,627,898,268 86 426,307,153 1,061,575,000 149

Michigan 13,836,022,557 16,354,807,414 18 761,117,389 2,430,553,000 219

Minnesota 5,324,698,908 9,354,375,944 76 267,177,674 866,329,000 224

Mississippi 2,252,988,759 4,006,797,799 78 93,001,850 495,541,000 433

Missouri 4,484,973,964 8,905,755,838 99 227,343,153 868,674,000 282

Montana 1,067,217,749 1,523,696,352 43 58,275,159 231,032,000 296

Nebraska 1,733,255,104 3,563,939,466 106 80,694,184 361,331,000 348

Nevada 840,085,533 3,577,346,249 326 117,879,428 676,355,000 474

New Hampshire 880,313,537 2,655,076,620 202 42,266,253 181,784,000 330

New Jersey 10,843,093,615 25,417,319,683 134 538,870,146 2,059,640,000 282

New Mexico 1,536,081,560 3,099,308,151 102 75,723,437 608,867,000 704

New York 26,106,928,703 52,938,585,763 103 2,049,718,099 5,970,104,000 191

North Carolina 5,605,105,888 12,666,607,169 126 472,831,919 1,648,330,000 249

North Dakota 680,895,998 1,174,364,407 72 22,028,636 112,391,000 410

Ohio 11,433,276,194 19,506,122,951 71 522,315,888 1,759,207,000 237

Oklahoma 3,146,492,099 5,329,897,044 69 158,512,606 699,701,000 341

Oregon 3,357,981,913 5,395,741,686 61 246,519,868 1,041,559,000 323

Pennsylvania 13,661,607,830 23,712,930,530 74 757,296,947 3,182,655,000 320

Rhode Island 1,078,923,476 2,121,403,207 97 56,263,616 199,476,000 255

South Carolina 2,974,065,080 6,950,409,756 134 205,463,520 709,439,000 245

South Dakota 710,246,736 1,125,929,001 59 23,864,356 158,903,000 566

Tennessee 3,931,619,127 8,531,674,871 117 273,811,298 1,061,028,000 288

Texas 14,893,477,587 41,947,639,284 182 603,832,570 5,736,222,000 850

Utah 1,544,425,764 3,944,735,587 155 79,293,554 505,949,000 538

Vermont 565,650,619 1,549,228,460 174 31,335,377 134,803,000 330

Virginia 5,607,063,796 13,868,587,328 147 487,526,616 2,174,796,000 346

Washington 5,440,963,473 10,216,675,998 88 392,405,941 1,500,971,000 283

West Virginia 2,021,639,739 3,186,121,082 58 57,136,775 333,203,000 483

Wisconsin 5,687,537,685 9,758,649,848 72 317,570,563 1,433,083,000 351

Wyoming 673,696,142 1,439,040,945 114 26,290,128 213,416,000 712

Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education and National Public Education 

Financial Survey; and U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances.

18
Exhibit A.2 

Percentage change in PK–12 current expenditures and state and local corrections current expenditures

from 1979–80 to 2012–13, by state 

-100% 100% 300% 500% 700% 900%

Massachusetts

Iowa

New York

Illinois

Michigan

Minnesota

Ohio

Maine

South Carolina

Connecticut

North Carolina

Rhode Island

Indiana

Kentucky

Alabama

Maryland

Missouri

New Jersey

Washington

Tennessee

Louisiana

Montana

Pennsylvania

Oregon

New Hampshire

Vermont

Alaska

Oklahoma

Kansas

Virginia

Nebraska

Wisconsin

Delaware

Hawaii

California

North Dakota

Mississippi

Georgia

Nevada

Florida

West Virginia

Arizona

Colorado

Arkansas

Utah

South Dakota

Idaho

New Mexico

Wyoming

Texas

Public PK–12 Expenditures

State and Local Corrections

Expenditures

Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education and National Public Education 

Financial Survey; and U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances.

19
Exhibit A.3 

Change in PK–12 current expenditures per pupil and state and local corrections current expenditures per 

capita from 1979–80 to 2012–13, by state 

PK–12 Expenditures per Pupil (in 

constant 2012–13 dollars)

2012–13 

Corrections Expenditures per Capita (in 

constant 2012–13 dollars)

1979–80 2012–13 Change 1979–80 Change

Total (50 states) $6,218 $10,748 73% $102 $292 185% 

Alabama 4,531 8,773 94 69 183 165 

Alaska 12,716 18,217 43 277 593 114 

Arizona 5,558 7,495 35 122 276 127 

Arkansas 4,386 9,538 117 54 240 344 

California 6,635 9,258 40 158 438 178 

Colorado 6,729 8,693 29 92 291 216 

Connecticut 6,458 17,321 168 81 229 183 

Delaware 7,709 13,653 77 143 388 172 

Florida 5,466 8,623 58 92 250 173 

Georgia 4,443 9,121 105 97 281 189 

Hawaii 6,218 11,743 89 62 183 193 

Idaho 4,614 6,761 47 61 263 331 

Illinois 6,679 12,443 86 83 202 143 

Indiana 5,090 9,421 85 71 197 179 

Iowa 6,449 10,291 60 74 172 132 

Kansas 5,849 10,011 71 67 234 251 

Kentucky 4,641 9,274 100 80 220 174 

Louisiana 4,855 10,539 117 114 364 219 

Maine 5,042 12,655 151 69 176 155 

Maryland 6,832 14,086 106 150 378 152 

Massachusetts 7,592 15,321 102 100 200 100 

Michigan 7,437 10,515 41 117 318 172 

Minnesota 6,844 11,065 62 92 209 127 

Mississippi 4,674 8,117 74 55 220 303 

Missouri 5,138 9,702 89 64 187 192 

Montana 6,746 10,662 58 105 292 178 

Nebraska 6,033 11,743 95 72 257 258 

Nevada 5,686 8,026 41 202 318 57 

New Hampshire 5,162 14,050 172 64 173 171 

New Jersey 8,420 18,523 120 100 299 199 

New Mexico 5,574 9,164 64 86 386 351

New York 8,793 19,529 122 159 387 143 

North Carolina 4,874 8,342 71 112 218 94 

North Dakota 5,786 11,615 101 48 200 320 

Ohio 5,645 11,276 100 68 197 191 

Oklahoma 5,393 7,914 47 73 241 230 

Oregon 7,189 9,183 28 129 339 163 

Pennsylvania 6,939 13,445 94 87 316 265 

Rhode Island 6,974 14,889 113 80 238 198 

South Carolina 4,760 9,444 98 94 192 104 

South Dakota 5,307 8,630 63 49 249 407 

Tennessee 4,539 8,588 89 83 212 155 

Texas 5,184 8,261 59 61 296 386 

Utah 4,637 6,432 39 86 252 193 

Vermont 5,752 17,286 201 86 268 212 

Virginia 5,436 10,960 102 126 340 170 

Washington 7,113 9,714 37 131 279 113 

West Virginia 5,211 11,257 116 41 226 450 

Wisconsin 6,630 11,186 69 95 323 241 

Wyoming 7,060 15,815 124 81 480 493 

Sources: PK–12 Current U.S. Department of Education, Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education and National Public 

Education Financial Survey; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances; and U.S. Census Bureau, State Population 

Estimates.

20
Exhibit A.4

Percentage point difference in percent change between PK–12 current expenditures

and state and local corrections current expenditures from 1979–80 to 2012–13, by state 

Change in Total Expenditures Change in Expenditures per Person

PK–12 Education Corrections Difference PK–12 Education Corrections Difference

Total (50 states) 107% 324% 218 73% 185% 112 

Alabama 91 262 171 94 165 72 

Alaska 113 333 221 43 114 71 

Arizona 188 491 303 35 127 92 

Arkansas 133 519 385 117 344 226 

California 113 369 255 40 178 138 

Colorado 103 513 410 29 216 187 

Connecticut 161 248 87 168 183 15 

Delaware 120 359 239 77 172 95 

Florida 182 474 292 58 173 115 

Georgia 224 468 244 105 189 84 

Hawaii 107 367 260 89 193 104 

Idaho 106 701 595 47 331 284 

Illinois 89 193 104 86 143 56 

Indiana 78 259 181 85 179 94 

Iowa 45 163 118 60 132 73 

Kansas 98 345 247 71 251 180 

Kentucky 102 259 157 100 174 74 

Louisiana 93 290 197 117 219 102 

Maine 105 239 135 151 155 4 

Maryland 128 278 150 106 152 45 

Massachusetts 86 149 63 102 100 -2

Michigan 18 219 201 41 172 130 

Minnesota 76 224 149 62 127 66 

Mississippi 78 433 355 74 303 230 

Missouri 99 282 184 89 192 104 

Montana 43 296 254 58 178 120 

Nebraska 106 348 242 95 258 163 

Nevada 326 474 148 41 57 16 

New Hampshire 202 330 128 172 171 -1

New Jersey 134 282 148 120 199 79

New Mexico 102 704 602 64 351 286

New York 103 191 88 122 143 21

North Carolina 126 249 123 71 94 23

North Dakota 72 410 338 101 320 220

Ohio 71 237 166 100 191 91

Oklahoma 69 341 272 47 230 183

Oregon 61 323 262 28 163 135

Pennsylvania 74 320 247 94 265 172

Rhode Island 97 255 158 113 198 85

South Carolina 134 245 112 98 104 5 

South Dakota 59 566 507 63 407 344 

Tennessee 117 288 171 89 155 66 

Texas 182 850 668 59 386 326 

Utah 155 538 383 39 193 154 

Vermont 174 330 156 201 212 12 

Virginia 147 346 199 102 170 68 

Washington 88 283 195 37 113 76 

West Virginia 58 483 426 116 450 334 

Wisconsin 72 351 280 69 241 172 

Wyoming 114 712 598 124 493 369 

Sources: PK–12 Current U.S. Department of Education, Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education and National Public 

Education Financial Survey; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances; and U.S. Census Bureau, State Population 

Estimates.

21
Exhibit A.5

Change in number of people incarcerated in state and local correctional facilities and 

adult population (aged 18 and over) from 1979–80 to 2012–13, by state

Persons in State and Local Correctional Facilities Adult Population (Aged 18 and Over)

1979–80 2012–13 Change 1979–80 2012–13 Change

Total (50 states) 466,282 2,073,772 345% 162,268,000 242,007,992 49%

Alabama 11,011 45,666 315 2,729,000 3,722,241 36

Alaska 863 5,163 498 270,000 547,000 103

Arizona 6,728 55,532 725 1,926,000 5,009,810 160

Arkansas 3,699 24,302 557 1,614,000 2,249,507 39

California 50,452 217,709 332 17,281,000 29,157,644 69

Colorado 4,475 32,850 634 2,080,000 4,030,435 94

Connecticut 4,551 17,563 286 2,285,000 2,810,514 23

Delaware 1,496 7,004 368 428,000 722,191 69

Florida 33,110 155,393 369 7,381,000 15,526,186 110

Georgia 19,974 92,258 362 3,818,000 7,502,458 97

Hawaii 1,088 5,632 418 689,000 1,096,788 59

Idaho 1,369 11,777 760 637,000 1,184,355 86

Illinois 18,919 70,826 274 8,178,000 9,858,828 21

Indiana 9,155 46,059 403 3,872,000 4,984,875 29

Iowa 3,264 12,748 291 2,088,000 2,366,384 13

Kansas 3,294 16,863 412 1,714,000 2,169,865 27

Kentucky 5,946 39,025 556 2,579,000 3,381,291 31

Louisiana 15,379 66,450 332 2,874,000 3,512,513 22

Maine 1,264 3,246 157 803,000 1,067,026 33

Maryland 11,152 33,398 199 3,049,000 4,584,292 50

Massachusetts 5,917 21,421 262 4,247,000 5,298,878 25

Michigan 20,917 60,962 191 6,507,000 7,650,421 18

Minnesota 3,453 16,913 390 2,905,000 4,141,269 43

Mississippi 6,088 33,544 451 1,706,000 2,253,775 32

Missouri 8,305 43,306 421 3,555,000 4,646,486 31

Montana 994 6,441 548 555,000 791,184 43

Nebraska 2,146 8,556 299 1,123,000 1,404,168 25

Nevada 2,151 19,958 828 584,000 2,128,531 264

New Hampshire 541 5,030 830 663,000 1,052,337 59

New Jersey 9,897 38,850 293 5,374,000 6,877,222 28

New Mexico 1,429 15,405 978 884,000 1,577,747 78

New York 34,698 80,509 132 12,870,000 15,411,151 20

North Carolina 19,437 55,705 187 4,219,000 7,562,455 79

North Dakota 424 2,664 528 462,000 560,705 21

Ohio 19,512 69,640 257 7,703,000 8,920,978 16

Oklahoma 6,326 36,994 485 2,170,000 2,903,541 34

Oregon 5,213 21,195 307 1,910,000 3,072,459 61

Pennsylvania 15,123 88,756 487 8,742,000 10,058,156 15

Rhode Island 813 3,361 313 704,000 837,524 19

South Carolina 9,781 33,652 244 2,178,000 3,695,041 70

South Dakota 871 5,527 535 485,000 636,918 31

Tennessee 11,187 53,774 381 3,292,000 5,004,401 52

Texas 40,636 232,597 472 9,923,000 19,406,207 96

Utah 1,612 13,523 739 921,000 2,004,283 118

Vermont 499 2,078 316 366,000 503,929 38

Virginia 14,942 64,765 333 3,872,000 6,395,870 65

Washington 7,395 28,904 291 2,991,000 5,375,611 80

West Virginia 1,977 11,290 471 1,390,000 1,472,626 6

Wisconsin 6,100 35,096 475 3,347,000 4,434,937 33

Wyoming 709 3,892 449 325,000 444,979 37

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics Program; Bureau of Justice Statistics, Annual Survey of Jails, 2013; and U.S. Census 

Bureau, 1980 Census of Population, Persons in Institutions and Other Group Quarters; 1984; U.S. Census Bureau, State Population Estimates.

22
Exhibit A.6 

Change in PK–12 public school enrollment and population of school-age children (aged 5–17)

from 1979–80 to 2012–13, by state

PK–12 Public School Enrollment School-Age Children (Aged 5–17) 

1979–80 2012–13 Change 1979–80 2012–13 Change

Total (50 states) 41,544,556 49,694,978 20% 47,291,000 53,671,722 13% 

Alabama 754,181 744,637 -1 866,000 814,307 -6

Alaska 88,573 131,489 48 92,000 133,118 45

Arizona 509,252 1,089,384 114 578,000 1,184,223 105

Arkansas 453,125 486,157 7 496,000 516,579 4 

California 4,119,511 6,299,451 53 4,681,000 6,666,240 42 

Colorado 550,527 863,561 57 592,000 903,529 53 

Connecticut 566,634 550,954 -3 638,000 594,237 -7

Delaware 104,035 129,026 24 125,000 147,335 18

Florida 1,508,337 2,692,162 78 1,789,000 2,955,556 65

Georgia 1,078,462 1,703,332 58 1,231,000 1,822,237 48

Hawaii 168,660 184,760 10 198,000 217,192 10

Idaho 202,758 284,834 40 213,000 313,967 47

Illinois 2,043,239 2,072,880 1 2,401,000 2,223,434 -7

Indiana 1,083,826 1,041,369 -4 1,200,000 1,165,148 -3

Iowa 548,317 499,825 -9 604,000 529,424 -12

Kansas 422,924 489,043 16 468,000 523,334 12

Kentucky 677,123 685,167 1 800,000 738,839 -8

Louisiana 800,435 710,903 -11 969,000 804,855 -17

Maine 227,823 185,739 -18 243,000 196,537 -19

Maryland 777,725 859,638 11 895,000 979,131 9

Massachusetts 1,035,724 954,773 -8 1,153,000 1,032,137 -10

Michigan 1,860,498 1,555,370 -16 2,067,000 1,672,859 -19

Minnesota 778,056 845,404 9 865,000 931,632 8

Mississippi 482,039 493,650 2 599,000 538,823 -10

Missouri 872,933 917,900 5 1,008,000 1,021,192 1

Montana 158,208 142,908 -10 167,000 162,818 -3

Nebraska 287,288 303,505 6 324,000 334,385 3

Nevada 147,734 445,707 202 160,000 482,179 201 

New Hampshire 170,546 188,974 11 196,000 205,637 5

New Jersey 1,287,809 1,372,203 7 1,528,000 1,489,602 -3

New Mexico 275,572 338,220 23 303,000 368,586 22

New York 2,969,216 2,710,703 -9 3,552,000 3,074,755 -13

North Carolina 1,150,053 1,518,465 32 1,254,000 1,672,657 33

North Dakota 117,688 101,111 -14 136,000 114,297 -16

Ohio 2,025,256 1,729,916 -15 2,307,000 1,959,008 -15

Oklahoma 583,458 673,483 15 622,000 682,766 10

Oregon 467,128 587,564 26 525,000 626,782 19

Pennsylvania 1,968,801 1,763,677 -10 2,376,000 2,001,519 -16

Rhode Island 154,699 142,481 -8 186,000 159,726 -14

South Carolina 624,795 735,998 18 703,000 787,177 12

South Dakota 133,840 130,471 -3 147,000 148,425 1

Tennessee 866,117 993,496 15 972,000 1,091,239 12

Texas 2,872,719 5,077,659 77 3,137,000 5,101,545 63

Utah 333,049 613,279 84 350,000 642,758 84

Vermont 98,338 89,624 -9 109,000 92,546 -15

Virginia 1,031,403 1,265,419 23 1,114,000 1,354,688 22

Washington 764,879 1,051,694 37 826,000 1,150,307 39

West Virginia 387,966 283,044 -27 414,000 279,446 -33

Wisconsin 857,855 872,436 2 1,011,000 963,596 -5

Wyoming 95,422 91,533 -4 101,000 99,413 -2

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD). U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population 

Reports, Series P-25, No. 1095.

23
Exhibit A.7 

Percentage point difference in percent change between PK–12 current expenditures

and state and local corrections current expenditures from 1979–80 to 2012–13, by state 

63

87

88

104

112

118

123

128

135

148

148

149

150

156

157

158

166

171

171

181

184

195

197

199

201

221

239

242

244

247

247

254

255

260

262

272

280

292

303

338

355

383

385

410

426

507

595

598

602

668

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

Massachusetts

Connecticut

New York

Illinois

South Carolina

Iowa

New Hampshire

North Carolina

Maine

Nevada

New Jersey

Minnesota

Maryland

Vermont

Kentucky

Rhode Island

Ohio

Tennessee

Alabama

Indiana

Missouri

Washington

Louisiana

Virginia

Michigan

Alaska

Delaware

Nebraska

Georgia

Pennsylvania

Kansas

Montana

California

Hawaii

Oregon

Oklahoma

Wisconsin

Florida

Arizona

North Dakota

Mississippi

Utah

Arkansas

Colorado

West Virginia

South Dakota

Idaho

Wyoming

New Mexico

Texas

Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education and National Public Education 

Financial Survey; and U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances.

24
Exhibit A.8 

Percentage point difference in percent change between PK–12 current expenditures per pupil and 

state and local corrections current expenditures per capita from 1979–80 to 2012–13, by state 

Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education and National Public Education 

Financial Survey; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances; and U.S. Census Bureau, State Population Estimates.

25
Exhibit A.9 

Change in state and local appropriations for higher education and state and local corrections current 

expenditures from 1989–90 to 2012–13, by state 

Total Educational Appropriations for Higher Education Total Corrections Expenditures

(in constant 2012–13 dollars) (in constant 2012–13 dollars)

1989–90 2012–13 Change 1989–90 2012–13 Change

Total (50 states) $67,490,139,218 $71,177,898,745 5% $37,352,428,654 $70,547,349,000 89% 

Alabama 1,085,565,829 1,036,202,142 -5 351,136,268 680,275,000 94 

Alaska 290,576,715 349,253,901 20 205,794,710 324,452,000 58 

Arizona 1,151,515,153 1,448,921,971 26 728,639,140 1,383,473,000 90 

Arkansas 452,452,326 842,770,723 86 167,756,178 539,075,000 221 

California 10,979,563,082 11,072,757,037 1 6,564,754,328 12,763,436,000 94 

Colorado 744,427,966 601,972,950 -19 462,852,251 1,171,292,000 153 

Connecticut 858,939,973 712,947,278 -17 381,786,466 643,930,000 69 

Delaware 210,638,141 210,445,235 0 127,500,234 280,152,000 120 

Florida 2,715,313,499 2,891,170,926 6 2,239,714,696 3,886,503,000 74 

Georgia 1,588,779,150 2,376,937,054 50 974,684,328 2,109,958,000 116 

Hawaii 482,029,599 454,697,776 -6 133,004,589 200,482,000 51 

Idaho 303,566,733 360,758,408 19 80,178,456 311,749,000 289 

Illinois 3,057,850,287 3,709,630,419 21 1,214,888,086 1,995,482,000 64 

Indiana 1,356,557,594 1,320,581,338 -3 514,160,632 982,587,000 91 

Iowa 867,533,370 709,373,326 -18 218,745,704 406,800,000 86 

Kansas 792,590,957 822,888,295 4 293,682,178 507,132,000 73 

Kentucky 768,409,539 1,009,635,938 31 357,476,934 744,106,000 108 

Louisiana 686,472,501 896,221,240 31 489,078,559 1,279,578,000 162 

Maine 316,756,598 240,039,063 -24 117,865,336 187,730,000 59 

Maryland 1,390,931,180 1,676,359,392 21 1,010,833,415 1,732,240,000 71 

Massachusetts 1,291,407,656 1,215,182,975 -6 855,877,002 1,061,575,000 24 

Michigan 2,760,878,486 2,045,927,988 -26 1,656,129,233 2,430,553,000 47 

Minnesota 1,535,819,845 1,070,029,122 -30 418,908,518 866,329,000 107 

Mississippi 585,749,898 726,908,015 24 162,838,517 495,541,000 204 

Missouri 1,089,163,065 1,062,248,195 -2 459,452,342 868,674,000 89 

Montana 194,450,580 188,937,725 -3 60,659,042 231,032,000 281 

Nebraska 463,443,880 654,376,142 41 148,542,865 361,331,000 143 

Nevada 254,604,357 436,589,411 71 288,006,552 676,355,000 135 

New Hampshire 131,898,646 76,739,540 -42 94,457,710 181,784,000 92 

New Jersey 1,878,756,326 1,827,650,523 -3 1,301,212,251 2,059,640,000 58 

New Mexico 570,761,415 819,290,853 44 251,744,500 608,867,000 142 

New York 4,870,457,442 5,217,839,478 7 5,110,613,584 5,970,104,000 17 

North Carolina 2,212,300,024 3,366,701,912 52 835,840,132 1,648,330,000 97 

North Dakota 201,645,052 278,213,594 38 33,111,762 112,391,000 239 

Ohio 2,391,961,968 1,780,378,468 -26 1,171,281,428 1,759,207,000 50 

Oklahoma 823,567,154 934,214,210 13 329,071,478 699,701,000 113 

Oregon 790,992,186 698,617,538 -12 351,766,691 1,041,559,000 196 

Pennsylvania 2,302,830,458 1,494,001,766 -35 1,340,790,400 3,182,655,000 137 

Rhode Island 249,408,350 161,508,531 -35 144,131,729 199,476,000 38 

South Carolina 835,158,247 792,693,501 -5 503,649,338 709,439,000 41 

South Dakota 123,105,403 163,001,204 32 53,677,021 158,903,000 196 

Tennessee 1,116,741,873 1,146,721,037 3 584,640,419 1,061,028,000 81 

Texas 4,786,122,247 6,480,077,539 35 2,086,611,289 5,736,222,000 175 

Utah 520,799,807 688,409,944 32 172,087,145 505,949,000 194 

Vermont 94,727,210 65,913,839 -30 48,484,234 134,803,000 178 

Virginia 1,693,898,374 1,508,475,964 -11 955,611,312 2,174,796,000 128 

Washington 1,417,910,449 1,293,021,408 -9 671,452,889 1,500,971,000 124 

West Virginia 299,769,651 407,342,466 36 83,357,899 333,203,000 300 

Wisconsin 1,644,935,998 1,449,527,420 -12 490,780,336 1,433,083,000 192 

Wyoming 256,402,975 383,794,023 50 53,108,547 213,416,000 302 

Sources: State Higher Education Executive Officers, State Higher Education Finance: FY 2015; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local 

Government Finances. 

26
Exhibit A.10 

Percentage change in state and local appropriations for higher education and 

state and local corrections current expenditures from 1989–90 to 2012–13, by state 

-100% -50% 0% 50% 100% 150% 200% 250% 300% 350%

State and Local Higher Education

Appropriations

State and Local Corrections

Expenditures

Wyoming

West Virginia

Idaho

Montana

North Dakota

Arkansas

Mississippi

Oregon

South Dakota

Utah

Wisconsin

Vermont

Texas

Louisiana

Colorado

Nebraska

New Mexico

Pennsylvania

Nevada

Virginia

Washington

Delaware

Georgia

Oklahoma

Kentucky

Minnesota

North Carolina

California

Alabama

New Hampshire

Indiana

Arizona

Missouri

Iowa

Tennessee

Florida

Kansas

Maryland

Connecticut

Illinois

Maine

New Jersey

Alaska

Hawaii

Ohio

Michigan

South Carolina

Rhode Island

Massachusetts

New York

Sources: State Higher Education Executive Officers, State Higher Education Finance: FY 2015; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local 

Government Finances.

27
Exhibit A.11

Change in state and local appropriations for higher education per full-time equivalent (FTE) student

and state and local corrections current expenditures per capita from 1989–90 to 2012–13, by state 

Higher Education Appropriations per FTE Student Corrections Expenditures per Capita

(in constant 2013 dollars) (in constant 2013 dollars)

1989–90 2012–13 Change 1989–90 2012–13 Change

Total (50 states) $8,688 $6,260 -28% $203 $292 44% 

Alabama 6,799 5,257 -23 118 183 55 

Alaska 19,101 16,528 -13 546 593 9 

Arizona 7,742 5,354 -31 272 276 2 

Arkansas 7,359 6,884 -6 97 240 147 

California 9,620 7,446 -23 299 438 46 

Colorado 5,829 3,195 -45 190 291 53 

Connecticut 13,554 8,119 -40 151 229 52 

Delaware 8,543 6,062 -29 254 388 53 

Florida 7,777 4,669 -40 223 250 12 

Georgia 9,708 6,696 -31 206 281 37 

Hawaii 17,011 11,066 -35 161 183 14 

Idaho 10,305 6,238 -39 115 263 129 

Illinois 8,548 8,286 -3 143 202 41 

Indiana 8,075 5,223 -35 126 197 57 

Iowa 8,853 5,471 -38 106 172 62 

Kansas 7,721 5,870 -24 162 234 44 

Kentucky 7,099 6,489 -9 131 220 68 

Louisiana 5,705 5,134 -10 164 364 123 

Maine 11,031 6,428 -42 128 176 37 

Maryland 8,946 7,020 -22 280 378 35 

Massachusetts 10,535 7,066 -33 184 200 9 

Michigan 8,439 4,969 -41 243 318 31 

Minnesota 8,675 5,103 -41 131 209 60 

Mississippi 5,994 5,502 -8 89 220 146 

Missouri 7,425 5,401 -27 121 187 55 

Montana 7,078 4,704 -34 105 292 177 

Nebraska 7,185 8,061 12 129 257 99 

Nevada 9,065 6,623 -27 319 318 0 

New Hampshire 4,980 1,956 -61 114 173 52 

New Jersey 11,085 6,621 -40 219 299 37 

New Mexico 9,402 8,093 -14 236 386 63 

New York 11,306 9,127 -19 373 387 4 

North Carolina 10,299 8,199 -20 167 218 31 

North Dakota 6,270 7,495 20 72 200 180 

Ohio 7,455 4,442 -40 146 197 35 

Oklahoma 8,005 6,481 -19 143 241 69 

Oregon 8,002 4,220 -47 166 339 104 

Pennsylvania 8,240 4,099 -50 148 316 114 

Rhode Island 9,352 5,095 -46 186 238 28 

South Carolina 8,102 4,403 -46 197 192 -2

South Dakota 6,443 4,948 -23 108 249 131 

Tennessee 8,147 5,848 -28 160 212 33 

Texas 8,062 6,461 -20 172 296 72 

Utah 8,570 5,558 -35 157 252 60 

Vermont 6,228 3,092 -50 116 268 131 

Virginia 8,028 4,707 -41 204 340 66 

Washington 9,233 5,208 -44 187 279 50 

West Virginia 5,101 5,192 2 62 226 266 

Wisconsin 8,726 6,317 -28 136 323 137 

Wyoming 11,875 14,952 26 167 480 187 

Sources: State Higher Education Executive Officers, State Higher Education Finance: FY 2015; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local 

Government Finances; and U.S. Census Bureau, State Population Estimates.

28
Exhibit A.12

Percentage point difference in percent change between state and local appropriations for higher education

and state and local corrections current expenditures from 1989–90 to 2012–13, by state 

Change in Total Funding Change in Funding per Person

Higher Education Corrections Difference Higher Education Corrections Difference

Total (50 states) 5% 89% 83 -28% 44% 72 

Alabama -5 94 98 -23 55 78 

Alaska 20 58 37 -13 9 22 

Arizona 26 90 64 -31 2 32 

Arkansas 86 221 135 -6 147 153 

California 1 94 94 -23 46 69 

Colorado -19 153 172 -45 53 98 

Connecticut -17 69 86 -40 52 92 

Delaware 0 120 120 -29 53 82 

Florida 6 74 67 -40 12 52 

Georgia 50 116 67 -31 37 68 

Hawaii -6 51 56 -35 14 49 

Idaho 19 289 270 -39 129 168 

Illinois 21 64 43 -3 41 44 

Indiana -3 91 94 -35 57 92 

Iowa -18 86 104 -38 62 100 

Kansas 4 73 69 -24 44 68 

Kentucky 31 108 77 -9 68 77 

Louisiana 31 162 131 -10 123 133 

Maine -24 59 83 -42 37 79 

Maryland 21 71 51 -22 35 57 

Massachusetts -6 24 30 -33 9 42 

Michigan -26 47 73 -41 31 72 

Minnesota -30 107 137 -41 60 101 

Mississippi 24 204 180 -8 146 155 

Missouri -2 89 92 -27 55 82 

Montana -3 281 284 -34 177 211 

Nebraska 41 143 102 12 99 87 

Nevada 71 135 63 -27 0 27 

New Hampshire -42 92 134 -61 52 112 

New Jersey -3 58 61 -40 37 77 

New Mexico 44 142 98 -14 63 77 

New York 7 17 10 -19 4 23 

North Carolina 52 97 45 -20 31 51 

North Dakota 38 239 201 20 180 161 

Ohio -26 50 76 -40 35 76 

Oklahoma 13 113 99 -19 69 88 

Oregon -12 196 208 -47 104 151 

Pennsylvania -35 137 172 -50 114 164 

Rhode Island -35 38 74 -46 28 74 

South Carolina -5 41 46 -46 -2 43 

South Dakota 32 196 164 -23 131 154 

Tennessee 3 81 79 -28 33 61 

Texas 35 175 140 -20 72 92 

Utah 32 194 162 -35 60 96 

Vermont -30 178 208 -50 131 182 

Virginia -11 128 139 -41 66 108 

Washington -9 124 132 -44 50 93 

West Virginia 36 300 264 2 266 264 

Wisconsin -12 192 204 -28 137 165 

Wyoming 50 302 252 26 187 161 

Sources: State Higher Education Executive Officers, State Higher Education Finance: FY 2015; U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local 

Government Finances; and U.S. Census Bureau, State Population Estimates.

29
APPENDIX B: 

DATA SOURCES

PK–12 current expenditures are funds spent operating local public schools and local education agencies, including

such expenses as salaries for school personnel, student transportation, school books and materials, and energy

costs. Expenditure data cover prekindergarten through high school public education in regular, special, and 

vocational schools; charter schools; and state-run education programs (such as special education schools or

education programs for incarcerated youth). Current expenditures data exclude capital outlay, interest on school

debt, payments to private schools, and payments to public charter schools. Data for 1979–80 include expenditures

for state administration, and extensive changes were made to the data collection procedures in 1989–90. Sources: 

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Revenues and Expenditures for Public 

Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1979-80; and Common Core of Data (CCD), "National Public Education Financial

Survey," 2012-13. See Digest of Education Statistics 2015, table 236.25.

PK–12 expenditures per pupil are current expenditures divided by enrollment in elementary and secondary public 

schools. Sources: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Revenues and

Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1979-80; and Common Core of Data (CCD), "National

Public Education Financial Survey," 2012-13. See Digest of Education Statistics 2015, table 236.65.

Enrollment in PK–12 public schools represents the count of students on the school day closest to October 1.

Sources: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Statistics of Public Elementary and

Secondary School Systems, Fall 1979; and Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Survey of Public 

Elementary/Secondary Education," 2013-14. See Digest of Education Statistics 2015, table 203.20 and Digest of 

Education Statistics 1995, table 42. 

Expenditures for state and local corrections are current operating expenses for state and local corrections facilities

and include expenditures for community supervision (i.e., parole and probation). Source: U.S. Census Bureau,

Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 1980, 1990, and 2013; retrieved from The Urban InstituteBrookings Institution Tax Policy Center, State & Local Government Finance Data Query System.

Prisoners in state correctional facilities (i.e., prisons) includes prisoners, with sentences of any length of time or

who are awaiting sentencing, under the jurisdiction of state correctional authorities. Jurisdiction refers to the legal

authority of state correctional officials over a prisoner regardless of where the prisoner is held. State methods of

enumeration may change over time. Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, “National Prisoner Statistics Program.” See

Corrections Statistical Analysis Tool (CSAT) – Prisoners, Prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal

correctional authorities, December 31, 1978–2014. 

Inmates in local correctional facilities (i.e., jails) are offenders confined in short-term facilities that are usually

administered by a local law enforcement agency and that are intended for adults but sometimes hold juveniles

before or after adjudication. Jail inmates usually have a sentence of less than one year or are being held pending a

trial, awaiting sentencing, or awaiting transfer to other facilities after a conviction. Sources: Bureau of Justice 

Statistics, Annual Survey of Jails, 2013; and U.S. Census Bureau, 1980 Census of Population, Persons in Institutions

and Other Group Quarters, 1984. See Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Local Jails and State Prisons, 2000–

2013 - Statistical Tables and Historical Corrections Statistics in the United States, 1850–1984 .

Populations of adults over 18 are estimates of the resident population, as of April 1 in 1980 and July 1 in 2013.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Selected Age Groups by Sex for the 

United States, States, Counties, and Puerto Rico Commonwealth and Municipios: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013; 

retrieved from https://www.census.gov/popest/data/state/asrh/2013/files/SCPRC-EST2013-18+POP-RES.csv; and 

U.S. Census Bureau, 1980 Census of Population, Supplementary Report, Series PC80-S1-1, and unpublished data;

retrieved from http://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1981/compendia/statab/102ed/1981-02.pdf. 

30
Populations of school-aged children are estimates of the resident population, as of April 1 in 1980 and July 1 in 

2013. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, Series P-25, No. 1095; CPH-L-74. See Digest of 

Education Statistics 2015, table 101.40. 

State and local appropriations for higher education are the part of state and local support available for public 

higher education operating expenses. To allow for comparisons across states and time, the SHEF appropriations 

measure excludes funding for research, agricultural, and medical education, as well as support for independent 

institutions or students attending them, which can vary substantially between states. Source: State Higher 

Education Executive Officers Association, State Higher Education Finance: FY 2015. 

Note that the SHEF methodology for state and local appropriations is somewhat different than PK-12 and 

corrections spending figures. First, state and local appropriations do not reflect all expenditures at public higher 

education institutions. Appropriations are a component of revenue that only accounts for a small fraction of all 

resources available at public institutions. Additional expenditures are financed by tuition and fees, federal grants, 

private donations, and returns on endowment. Second, SHEF inflation-adjusts its published data using the Higher 

Education Cost Adjustment (HECA), while corrections and PK-12 spending data have been adjusted by the Consumer 

Price Index (CPI). Similarly to CPI, HECA is constructed from two federally developed and maintained price indices—

the Employment Cost Index (ECI) and the Gross Domestic Product Implicit Price Deflator (GDP IPD). The ECI reflects 

employer compensation costs including wages, salaries, and benefits; and GDP IPD reflects general price inflation in 

the U.S. economy. Since 1990, employer costs (ECI) or general prices (GDP IPD) have increased slightly faster than 

prices of consumer goods and services (CPI). (For more information, see: 

http://www.sheeo.org/sites/default/files/SHEF_FY15_Technical_Paper_A_HECA.pdf.) Third, SHEF measures state 

and local appropriations per student based on the estimated number of full-time equivalent students (FTE), rather 

than a raw headcount. In order to calculate figures that are comparable among state systems with various mixes of 

full-time and part-time students, appropriations are divided by FTE — a measure of enrollment equal to one student 

enrolled full time for one academic year, calculated from the aggregate number of enrolled credit hours (including 

summer session enrollments). (For more information, see: 

http://www.sheeo.org/sites/default/files/Technical%20Paper%20D%20-

%20Measures%2C%20Methods%2C%20and%20Analytical%20Tools.pdf.) 

31