How are public schools in Rhode Island funded?
Updated May. 28, 2026Refreshed annually
Rhode Island public schools are funded primarily from local governments. In the 2022–2023 school year, the most recent year of available data, about 42.8% of Rhode Island public school funding came from local sources like property taxes. Another 42.6% came through state programs, and the federal government provided the remaining 14.7%. Altogether, public schools in Rhode Island received $3.44 billion in funding, or $25,000 per student.
$3.44B
of funding went to public schools in Rhode Island (2022–2023 school year)
$25K
per student went to public schools in Rhode Island (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. Rhode Island schools received about $25,000 per student in 2022, roughly $5,100 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 $10,700 in Rhode Island.
In the 2022–2023 school year, public schools in Rhode Island received $5,100 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 $25,000 per student in Rhode Island
Total public school funding by source per student
Which school districts in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island, some districts received around $18,100 per student (Cumberland), while others received as much as $113,500 (R.I. Sch For The Deaf).
Per-student public school funding in Rhode Island ranged from $18,100 to $113,500 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 Rhode Island school districts?
Districts also differ in where that funding comes from. Some rely more heavily on state-level revenue— like R.I. Sch For The Deaf, where 88.9% of school funding came from state sources. Others receive more through local sources, such as Jamestown, where local dollars accounted for 86.2% of funding. In districts like Woonsocket, where local revenues are lower, federal dollars made up a larger portion — about 25.4% of total funding. The breakdown by source highlights the ways Rhode Island 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 39 largest school districts in RI, 2022–2023 school year
Total public school funding per student, by state (2022–2023 school year)
| Distict | Funding per student |
|---|---|
R.I. Sch For The Deaf | $113,500 |
New Shoreham | $51,000 |
Little Compton | $46,900 |
Pawtucket | $44,500 |
Jamestown | $38,000 |
Narragansett | $32,100 |
Westerly | $30,400 |
Providence | $30,200 |
Newport | $30,000 |
South Kingstown | $27,500 |
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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.
