Alaska spends nearly $16,000 per student

On average, it costs $10,615 to send a kid to public school for a year. That’s federal, state and local government spending combined according to the Census Bureau which released the reports today.

State spending per student in public schools
This chart shows the top ten states for expenditures per student in public schools.

However, that one number masks a huge variation. Utah spends just over $6,000 per student; New York and the District of Columbia over $18,000.

Those reports show that average spending in Alaska is approximately $15,800 per student.

There are roughly 131,000 students enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools in Alaska.

Alaska is fourth in terms of states that spend the most per student. The District of Columbia is the most expensive at approximately$18,700 per student. New York and New Jersey are second and third.

Detailed figures and lots more data (including district-level spending) are available in a report the Census Bureau released today.

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