How are public schools in funded?

Updated May. 28, 2026Refreshed annually
Tennessee public schools are funded primarily from local governments. In the 2022–2023 school year, the most recent year of available data, about 41% of Tennessee public school funding came from local sources like property taxes. Another 40.5% came through state programs, and the federal government provided the remaining 18.5%. Altogether, public schools in Tennessee received $14.4 billion in funding, or $14,300 per student.

$14.4B

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

$14.3K

per student went to public schools in Tennessee (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. Tennessee schools received about $14,300 per student in 2022, roughly $5,600 less than the national average. The largest difference was in state funding: the average US school received $9,000 per student from state sources, compared to $5,800 in Tennessee.

In the 2022–2023 school year, public schools in Tennessee received $5,600 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 2022–2023 school year, local, state, and federal funds amounted to $14,300 per student in Tennessee

Total public school funding by source per student

Which school districts in Tennessee 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 Tennessee, some districts received around $9,300 per student (Johnson County), while others received as much as $29,600 (Humphreys County).

Per-student public school funding in Tennessee ranged from $9,300 to $29,600 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 Tennessee school districts?

Districts also differ in where that funding comes from. Some rely more heavily on state-level revenue— like Union County, where 73% of school funding came from state sources. Others receive more through local sources, such as Williamson County, where local dollars accounted for 72.5% of funding. In districts like Memphis-Shelby County Schools, where local revenues are lower, federal dollars made up a larger portion — about 32.5% of total funding. The breakdown by source highlights the ways Tennessee 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 TN, 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

Humphreys County

$29,600

Franklin Ssd

$23,600

Davidson County

$23,100

Lake County

$20,300

Sevier County

$17,100

Newport 

$16,800

Clay County

$16,200

Humboldt City Schools

$16,000

Richard City

$16,000

Perry County

$16,000

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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.