Private school tuition vs public school spending, by state
Three numbers side by side: what private schools publish as tuition, what public schools spend per student, and what the state's school choice program pays. They measure different things, so read the notes below before comparing them.
Read this first
- Public spending is not a price. It is a state's total current spending on public schools (teachers, staff, building upkeep, transport, meals and more) divided by the number of enrolled students. No family pays it. It leaves out building construction and debt.
- Private tuition is a published price, before financial aid and without fees, books, uniforms or transport. Our figures are not a random sample: researchers started with the largest schools and the schools families already search for, so large, established schools are over-represented.
- The years differ. Public spending is for fiscal year 2024 (the 2023-24 school year), the latest the Census Bureau has published. Tuition is mostly for 2026-27. Neither is adjusted for inflation.
The national picture
In 32 of the 41 states shown, the median published tuition is lower than what the state's public schools spend per student. Across all 41 states, the middle value of median tuition as a share of public spending per pupil is 78%. Of the 17 states in the table with a set award amount, the award (the lower end, where it is a range) would pay the whole median price in 2; in the middle state it pays 59%. 14 states in the table have no state program.
State by state
Sorted by state. "Schools" is how many verified tuition figures the median rests on. "Tuition as share of public" divides the median tuition by public spending per pupil. "Award covers" divides the state award by the median tuition, for a student who gets the full award; it stops at 100%.
| State | Median private tuition | Schools | Public spending per pupil (FY2024) | Tuition as share of public | State award | Award covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $9,540 | 30 | $13,627 | 70% | $7,000 CHOOSE Act | 73% |
| Arizona | $11,750 | 27 | $12,003 | 98% | About $7,000 to $8,000 for most students (2025-26 figures) ESA | Not computed |
| California | $23,575 | 191 | $20,791 | 113% | No state program | |
| Colorado | $14,436 | 23 | $15,908 | 91% | No state program | |
| Connecticut | $31,000 | 27 | $26,316 | 118% | No state program | |
| Florida | $13,503 | 196 | $12,693 | 106% | $7,463 to $12,217 FES / FTC | 55% to 90% |
| Georgia | $14,665 | 68 | $15,833 | 93% | $6,500 Promise Scholarship, students zoned to a bottom 25% public school, or entering kindergarten | 44% |
| Idaho | $8,500 | 13 | $11,060 | 77% | $5,000 PCTC | 59% |
| Illinois | $13,315 | 54 | $21,776 | 61% | No state program | |
| Indiana | $9,875 | 32 | $13,622 | 72% | $6,033 to $8,329 Choice Scholarship | 61% to 84% |
| Iowa | $9,042 | 12 | $14,369 | 63% | $8,148 Students First ESA | 90% |
| Kansas | $12,100 | 13 | $15,558 | 78% | Up to $8,000 TCLISS | Up to 66% |
| Kentucky | $10,300 | 29 | $14,596 | 71% | No state program | |
| Louisiana | $9,800 | 47 | $15,581 | 63% | $5,243 to $7,626 LA GATOR | 54% to 78% |
| Maine | $24,145 | 10 | $19,962 | 121% | Tuition paid by your school district, up to a state formula Town tuitioning | Not computed |
| Maryland | $20,350 | 95 | $20,208 | 101% | $1,200 to $7,750 BOOST | 6% to 38% |
| Massachusetts | $23,200 | 37 | $24,429 | 95% | No state program | |
| Michigan | $10,500 | 45 | $18,314 | 57% | No state program | |
| Minnesota | $15,793 | 20 | $17,098 | 92% | No state program | |
| Mississippi | $7,440 | 17 | $12,324 | 60% | $8,421 ESA, students with a disability only | 100% |
| Missouri | $13,500 | 44 | $14,241 | 95% | Up to $7,145 per student for 2026-27, more for some students MOScholars | Not computed |
| Nebraska | $8,197 | 14 | $16,147 | 51% | No state program | |
| Nevada | $16,800 | 13 | $14,812 | 113% | Up to $10,367 Opportunity Scholarship | Up to 62% |
| New Hampshire | $15,591 | 10 | $22,978 | 68% | About $4,800 on average EFA | Not computed |
| New Jersey | $21,845 | 40 | $27,234 | 80% | No state program | |
| New Mexico | $13,345 | 8 | $17,664 | 76% | No state program | |
| New York | $17,093 | 44 | $31,918 | 54% | No state program | |
| North Carolina | $12,299 | 64 | $12,995 | 95% | $3,574 to $7,942 Opportunity Scholarship | 29% to 65% |
| Ohio | $8,300 | 65 | $17,257 | 48% | $6,166 to $8,408 EdChoice | 74% to 100% |
| Oklahoma | $11,265 | 9 | $12,162 | 93% | $5,000 to $7,500 PCTC | 44% to 67% |
| Oregon | $12,180 | 17 | $18,083 | 67% | No state program | |
| Pennsylvania | $14,438 | 74 | $21,091 | 68% | Set by each scholarship organization. Opportunity Scholarships go up to $8,500, or $15,000 for a student with a disability EITC / OSTC | Not computed |
| Rhode Island | $15,150 | 15 | $22,110 | 69% | About $3,245 on average (2024) RI scholarship tax credit | Not computed |
| South Carolina | $8,370 | 37 | $15,060 | 56% | $7,634 ESTF | 91% |
| Tennessee | $14,550 | 51 | $12,882 | 113% | $7,530 EFS | 52% |
| Texas | $14,964 | 104 | $12,895 | 116% | $10,474 TEFA | 70% |
| Utah | $14,250 | 9 | $11,347 | 126% | $8,000 UFA | 56% |
| Vermont | $17,969 | 8 | $28,818 | 62% | Tuition paid by your district Town tuitioning | Not computed |
| Virginia | $15,523 | 45 | $17,104 | 91% | Up to the state share of per-pupil public school funding where you live EISTC | Not computed |
| Washington | $16,810 | 41 | $18,564 | 91% | No state program | |
| Wisconsin | $9,000 | 55 | $15,952 | 56% | $11,305 to $13,799 WI Choice | 100% |
Public spending: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 8, total current spending per pupil. Tuition: verified figures from our tuition dataset. Awards: each state's program page, with its official sources. Where a program has no single verified amount, its own wording is shown and no share is computed ("Not computed").
Method
- Private tuition. Each figure was read on the school's own website or tuition sheet, and a script re-opened that page and kept the figure only if the same dollar amount appears on it. For each school we take its lowest published full-year day rate (usually the elementary rate), then the median across the state's verified schools. A state appears only with at least 8 verified schools. School years: 1,572 for 2026-27, 131 for not stated, 71 for 2025-26, 16 for 2027-28.
- Public spending. The Census Bureau's Table 8 "Total" column: current spending on instruction, support services and other current operations, divided by enrollment. Census excludes capital outlay, payments to other school systems, adult education and community services, and its notes describe state-by-state reporting differences. The table's note says the per pupil amounts use NCES enrollment counts from the Common Core of Data.
- State award. The amount set out in each program's official sources (see the program page). Where the award depends on income, grade or district, the table shows the range and the share it covers at each end. "Up to" means the law sets only a ceiling. Tax-credit scholarships are set by each scholarship organization, so a family may receive less.
- Not shown. 10 states with fewer than 8 verified tuition figures so far. Their public spending figures are in the Census file.
Sources and reuse
Public data: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of School System Finances, Summary Tables, Table 8 (elsec24_sumtables.xlsx), fiscal year 2024, dollars per pupil. Download the table above as a CSV (state, median tuition and its school count, grade band medians, public spending per pupil and enrollment, award and coverage). The page is rebuilt with the directory, most recently . Free to cite and reuse with a link to this page (CC BY 4.0). Questions: hello@choicefunded.com.