How are public schools in funded?

Refreshed annually
Ohio public schools are funded primarily from local governments. In the 2023–2024 school year, the most recent year of available data, about 50.7% of Ohio public school funding came from local sources like property taxes. Another 36.9% came through state programs, and the federal government provided the remaining 12.5%. Altogether, public schools in Ohio received $33.4 billion in funding, or $19,900 per student.

$33.4B

of funding went to public schools in Ohio (2023–2024 school year)

$19.9K

per student went to public schools in Ohio (2023–2024 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. Ohio schools received about $19,900 per student in 2023, roughly $1,100 less than the national average. The largest difference was in state funding: the average US school received $9,700 per student from state sources, compared to $7,400 in Ohio.

In the 2023–2024 school year, public schools in Ohio received $1,100 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.

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In the 2023–2024 school year, local, state, and federal funds amounted to $19,900 per student in Ohio

Total public school funding by source per student

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

State-level data shows an overall picture of school funding, but it can hide differences between school districts. District funding per student varies, and the data includes examples ranging from about $7,700 per student (Istem) to $107,200 per student (Delaware Area Career Center).

Per-student public school funding in Ohio ranged from $7,700 to $107,200 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 Ohio school districts?

Districts also differ in where that funding comes from. Some rely more heavily on state-level revenue — like Lorain City, where 61.5% of school funding came from state sources. Others receive more through local sources, such as Upper Arlington City, where local dollars accounted for 85.7% of funding. In districts like Cleveland Municipal, where local revenues are lower, federal dollars made up a larger portion — about 29% of total funding. The breakdown by source highlights the ways Ohio 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 OH, 2022–2023 school year

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

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

Delaware Area Career Center

$107,200

Vanguard-Sentinel Career & Technology Centers

$95,600

Portage Lakes

$62,900

Put-In-Bay Local

$60,200

Ohio Hi-Point Career Center

$54,600

Warren County Vocational School

$54,300

Columbiana County

$49,300

East Cleveland City School District

$47,200

Tolles Career & Technical Center

$47,100

Greene County Vocational School District

$46,800

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Methodology

USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.

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.