How are public schools in Pennsylvania funded?
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Primarily from local governments. In the 2021–2022 school year, the most recent year of available data, about 51.3% of public school funding came from local sources like property taxes. Another 35.1% came through state programs, and the federal government provided the remaining 13.6%. Altogether, public schools received $38.2 billion in funding, or $22,500 per student.
$38.2B
of funding went to public schools in Pennsylvania (2021–2022 school year)
$22.5K
per student went to public schools in Pennsylvania (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. Pennsylvania schools received about $22,500 per student in 2021, roughly $4,100 more than the national average. The largest difference was in local funding: the average US school received $7,800 per student from local sources, compared to $11,600 in Pennsylvania.
In the 2021 school year, public schools in Pennsylvania received $4,100 more 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 $22,500 per student in Pennsylvania
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 widely within the same state. In Pennsylvania, some districts received around $15,800 per student (Tyrone Area Sd), while others received as much as $162,000 (Adams County Technical Institute).
Per-student public school funding in Pennsylvania ranged from $15.8k to $162.0k 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 Reading Sd, where 70.2% of school funding came from state sources. Others receive more through local sources, such as Lower Merion Sd, where local dollars accounted for 83.7% of funding. In districts like Philadelphia City Sd, where local revenues are lower, federal dollars made up a larger portion — about 23.3% of total funding. The breakdown by source highlights the ways Pennsylvania 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 PA, 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.
