Among largest districts, who spends the most per pupil?

March 24, 2020

Of the nation's 100 largest districts, New York City schools had the highest per pupil expenditure in fiscal 2017.

Of the 100 largest school districts in the United States, the largest—New York City—had the highest per-pupil expenditure in fiscal 2017.

New York City schools spent $25,199 per pupil in fiscal 2017, according to figures from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

The NCES says that in fiscal 2017, the national median of expenditures per pupil among all districts was $11,276. Median expenditures per pupil were $10,510 in cities, $12,699 in the suburbs, $10,465 in towns, and $11,473 in rural areas.

Here are the 10 districts in the top 100 that had the highest spending per student in fiscal 2017.

District Fiscal 2017 per-pupil expenditure

New York City                         $25,199
Boston                                     $22,292
Atlanta                                       $16,293
Baltimore City                         $16,184
Montgomery County, Md          $16,109
Howard County, Md.                  $15,921
Prince George's County, Md.     $15,560
Columbus, Ohio                           $15,403
Fairfax County, Va.                    $14,498
Hawaii                                           $14,322