How are public schools in Georgia funded?
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Primarily from local governments. In the 2021–2022 school year, the most recent year of available data, about 43.5% of public school funding came from local sources like property taxes. Another 40.4% came through state programs, and the federal government provided the remaining 16.1%. Altogether, public schools received $28.4 billion in funding, or $16,300 per student.
$28.4B
of funding went to public schools in Georgia (2021–2022 school year)
$16.3K
per student went to public schools in Georgia (2021–2022 school year)
All American public schools are funded with a mix of local, state, and federal money, but the share attributable to each source — and the total amount of funding per student — differs by state. Georgia schools received about $16,300 per student in 2021, roughly $2,200 less than the national average. The largest difference was in state funding: the average US school received $8,100 per student from state sources, compared to $6,600 in Georgia.
In the 2021 school year, public schools in Georgia received $2,200 less per student than the average US school
Total public school funding by source per student
Public school districts receive funding from a combination of local, state, and federal sources.
- Local funding often comes from property taxes but can also come from fees or programs like parent-teacher associations.
- State funding is generated through a wide variety of sources that vary from state-to-state, often through personal and corporate income and retail sales taxes. Depending on the state, funding may also come from taxes on tobacco products and alcoholic beverages and from lotteries.
- Federal funding often comes to school districts through a series of targeted grants, like Title I, which supports schools serving low-income communities, or IDEA, which funds special education services. Much of this funding goes to the state, which is then allocated to individual school districts.
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In the 2021 school year, local, state, and federal funds amounted to $16,300 per student in Georgia
Total public school funding by source per student
State-level data paints an overall picture of school funding but masks differences between school districts. Each district receives a different amount of funding per student, and those amounts can vary within the same state. In Georgia, some districts received around $12,800 per student (Chickamauga City), while others received as much as $36,700 (Wheeler County).
Per-student public school funding in Georgia ranged from $12.8k to $36.7k across districts
Total public school funding per student per school district, all sources, 2021–2022 school year
Districts also differ in where that funding comes from. Some rely more heavily on state-level revenue— like Colquitt County, where 54.7% of school funding came from state sources. Others receive more through local sources, such as Atlanta Public Schools, where local dollars accounted for 68.7% of funding. In districts like Dougherty County, where local revenues are lower, federal dollars made up a larger portion — about 27.4% of total funding. The breakdown by source highlights the ways Georgia structures support for public education.
Districts differ in how they fund public schools
Share of public school funding from local, state, and federal sources for 50 largest school districts in GA, 2021–2022 school year
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
