Of every state in the nation, New York spends the highest portion of education spending on instruction, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Nearly 70 percent of New York’s education funding goes to instruction, representing $13,459 per pupil.
Arizona spends the lowest portion of education funding on teachers, with just 55 percent of funding going to instruction.
Idaho spends the least on instruction per pupil, with $3,996 going toward instruction. But 60 percent of Idaho’s education funding goes to instruction, 20th highest in the nation.
Nationwide, states spend about $6,500 on instruction, almost 61 percent of total education spending.
In California, $5,606 per pupil is spent on instruction, 60 percent of total education spending.
Every state in the Northeast is in the highest half of states when it comes to using education funding on instruction. States on the lower end of the spectrum were fairly scattered across the country.
In theory, education dollars are better spent on teachers rather than administrators or support staff. Under the National Center for Education Statistics definition of support services, support funding goes toward social work, guidance, health, and speech services in its definition of support services. However, if instructional funding is only going to a few teachers a higher portion of education spending for instruction does not necessarily signal a wise use of funds.
