How are public schools in funded?

Updated May. 28, 2026Refreshed annually
Nevada public schools are funded primarily from state governments. In the 2022–2023 school year, the most recent year of available data, about 68.7% of Nevada public school funding came from state sources. Another 16.8% came through local programs, and the federal government provided the remaining 14.5%. Altogether, public schools in Nevada received $6.77 billion in funding, or $14,000 per student.

$6.77B

of funding went to public schools in Nevada (2022–2023 school year)

$14K

per student went to public schools in Nevada (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. Nevada schools received about $14,000 per student in 2022, roughly $5,900 less than the national average. The largest difference was in local funding: the average US school received $8,300 per student from local sources, compared to $2,400 in Nevada.

In the 2022–2023 school year, public schools in Nevada received $5,900 less 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.

Get weekly insights

Subscribe for data-driven insights. No spin, just the facts.

In the 2022–2023 school year, local, state, and federal funds amounted to $14,000 per student in Nevada

Total public school funding by source per student

Which school districts in Nevada have the most funding per student? Which districts have the least?

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 widely within the same state. In Nevada, some districts received around $8,600 per student (Lander), while others received as much as $35,300 (Esmeralda).

Per-student public school funding in Nevada ranged from $8,600 to $35,300 across districts

Total public school funding per student per school district, all sources, 2022–2023 school year

What is the local, state and federal funding breakdown in Nevada school districts?

Districts also differ in where that funding comes from. Some rely more heavily on state-level revenue— like Eureka, where 93.7% of school funding came from state sources. Others receive more through local sources, such as Davidson Academy, where local dollars accounted for 79.1% of funding. In districts like Lander, where local revenues are lower, federal dollars made up a larger portion — about 28.4% of total funding. The breakdown by source highlights the ways Nevada 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 18 largest school districts in NV, 2022–2023 school year

Total public school funding per student, by state (2022–2023 school year)

Total public school funding per student, by state (2022–2023 school year)
DistictFunding per student

Esmeralda 

$35,300

Storey 

$31,200

Eureka 

$28,900

Davidson Academy

$24,800

Pershing 

$21,700

White Pine County School District

$21,600

Lincoln 

$19,000

Mineral 

$17,200

Douglas 

$14,700

Elko 

$14,700

Keep exploring

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.