How are public schools in funded?

Updated May. 28, 2026Refreshed annually
New York public schools are funded primarily from local governments. In the 2022–2023 school year, the most recent year of available data, about 51.5% of New York public school funding came from local sources like property taxes. Another 38.6% came through state programs, and the federal government provided the remaining 9.9%. Altogether, public schools in New York received $85.6 billion in funding, or $34,800 per student.

$85.6B

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

$34.8K

per student went to public schools in New York (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. New York schools received about $34,800 per student in 2022, roughly $15,000 more 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 $17,900 in New York.

In the 2022–2023 school year, public schools in New York received $15,000 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 $34,800 per student in New York

Total public school funding by source per student

Which school districts in New York 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 within the same state. In New York, some districts received around $384.62 per student (Wainscott Common School District), while others received as much as $496,000 (Kiryas Joel Village Union Free School District).

Per-student public school funding in New York ranged from $384.62 to $496,000 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 New York school districts?

Districts also differ in where that funding comes from. Some rely more heavily on state-level revenue— like Utica City School District, where 73.4% of school funding came from state sources. Others receive more through local sources, such as Great Neck Union Free School District, where local dollars accounted for 91.3% of funding. In districts like East Ramapo Central School District (Spring Valley), where local revenues are lower, federal dollars made up a larger portion — about 28.8% of total funding. The breakdown by source highlights the ways New York 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 NY, 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

Kiryas Joel Village Union Free School District

$496,000

New Suffolk Common School District

$155,100

Remsenburg-Speonk Union Free School District

$122,600

Mount Pleasant-Cottage Union Free School District

$108,600

Quogue Union Free School District

$107,300

Bridgehampton Union Free School District

$105,000

Newcomb Central School District

$102,600

Pocantico Hills Central School District

$98,400

Amagansett Union Free School District

$92,300

North Greenbush Common School District (Williams)

$89,100

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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.