How much do Americans spend on education?
Over the past 30 years, average per-pupil expenditures for public, elementary, and secondary schools have nearly doubled, rising from $3,931 in 1971-1972 to $7,524 in 2001-2002, in constant dollars.[9] Expenditures vary by state, with the District of Columbia spending the most at $12,046 and Utah the least at $4,674 per student.[10] Total federal, state, and local spending for education, both public and private, climbed to $745 billion for the 2001-2002 school year. Sixty-one percent, or $454 billion, was spent on K-12 education.[11]Local funding accounts for approximately 44 percent of pending, state 49 percent, and federal 7 percent.[12] The average private school tuition, according to a 2003 Cato Institute study, is $4,689. The average private elementary school tuition is less than $3,500, and the average secondary school tuition is $6,052.[13] Federal Funding In 2002, taxpayers spent an estimated $108 billion on education at the federal level, of which about 43 percent went through
