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Education share of state spending: U.S. states ranked (FY2023)

Measure: Education share of state spending (%, derived). All 50 states with data in State government spending per person and by function by state, ranked from highest to lowest. Reference period: FY2023.

Licence: Public domain (U.S. federal government work).
Data last updated: 2026-11-09

Download full table CSV Source: U.S. Census Bureau (Table 1) (opens in a new tab)Source: U.S. Census Bureau (Population Estimates Program, July 1, 2023 resident population (denominator)) (opens in a new tab)

National value: 31.5 (United States).

Small states, hard to see on the map:

RI 25.3 %
DE 34.4 %
CT 27.1 %
NJ 35.6 %
MD 33.4 %
MA 23 %
VT 38.8 %
NH 27.3 %

Lowest: 23 to 27.3 %
Group 2: 27.3 to 31.2 %
Group 3: 31.2 to 33.4 %
Group 4: 33.4 to 37.6 %
Highest: 37.6 to 43.8 %

The map is a visual summary; every value is in the table below, which is the keyboard and screen-reader path. Groups are quintiles of the values shown (a derived grouping). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain), simplified. Alaska and Hawaii are shown as insets, not to scale.

Rank is derived by Quadranac: 1 = highest value; ties share a rank. The ranked value is itself derived; see the source table for the method. Values are as published in the source table.

Note: State governments only; states differ in which services they fund directly and which are left to local governments. The District of Columbia is not covered.


1	Utah	43.8
2	Nevada	43.7
3	Alabama	42.9
4	Vermont	38.8
5	Washington	38.5
6	Colorado	38
6	Indiana	38
6	Michigan	38
6	Texas	38
10	Arkansas	37.6
11	Georgia	37.5
12	Kansas	37
12	South Carolina	37
14	New Jersey	35.6
15	North Carolina	35.4
16	Wyoming	35.1
17	Delaware	34.4
18	Idaho	34.3
19	Hawaii	33.5
20	Maryland	33.4
21	Minnesota	33.2
22	Oklahoma	32.5
23	Arizona	31.7
23	Mississippi	31.7
25	Tennessee	31.6
26	Nebraska	31.5
26	North Dakota	31.5
28	Iowa	31.4
28	Virginia	31.4
30	South Dakota	31.2
31	Wisconsin	30.8
32	West Virginia	30.2
33	Louisiana	30.1
34	Florida	29.9
35	Ohio	29.3
36	California	29
36	Missouri	29
38	Oregon	28.8
39	New Mexico	27.4
40	New Hampshire	27.3
41	Pennsylvania	27.2
42	Connecticut	27.1
42	Kentucky	27.1
44	Montana	26.9
45	Illinois	26.7
46	Rhode Island	25.3
47	New York	24.7
48	Maine	24.5
49	Alaska	23.4
50	Massachusetts	23

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of State Government Finances, Table 1: State Government Finances by State (2023 ASFIN State Totals)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, July 1, 2023 resident population (denominator). Reference period: FY2023.

Cite this ranking

U.S. states ranked by education share of state spending (%, derived) (FY2023). Data: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of State Government Finances, Table 1: State Government Finances by State (2023 ASFIN State Totals); rank derived by Quadranac. Data last updated 2026-11-09. https://quadranac.com/rankings/us-states-by-education-share-of-state-spending/

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