How are public schools in Hawaii funded?
Updated May. 28, 2026Refreshed annually
Hawaii public schools are funded primarily from state governments. In the 2022–2023 school year, the most recent year of available data, about 88% of Hawaii public school funding came from state sources. Another 1.3% came through local programs, and the federal government provided the remaining 10.7%. Altogether, public schools in Hawaii received $4.34 billion in funding, or $25,500 per student.
$4.34B
of funding went to public schools in Hawaii (2022–2023 school year)
$25.5K
per student went to public schools in Hawaii (2022–2023 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. Hawaii schools received about $25,500 per student in 2022, roughly $5,600 more than the national average. The largest difference was in state funding: the average US school received $9,000 per student from state sources, compared to $22,400 in Hawaii.
In the 2022–2023 school year, public schools in Hawaii received $5,600 more per student than the average US school
Total public school funding by source per student
Where do local, state, and federal funds come from?
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 2022–2023 school year, local, state, and federal funds amounted to $25,500 per student in Hawaii
Total public school funding by source per student
Which school districts in Hawaii have the most funding per student? Which districts have the least?
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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.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
