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Evan BrooksData Editor
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In this article
- The 15 Highest-Spending Counties
- Why the Top of the Table Is Expensive: Two Different Stories
- A Dollar Here Is Not a Dollar There
- The 15 Lowest-Spending Counties
- Why the Bottom Is Low: Formulas, Scale, and Revenue Limits
- High Spend Is Not High Scores — in Either Direction
- How to Use the Spending Extremes
- Methodology
America's school-finance distribution has a long tail at both ends. The 15 highest-spending counties in the current NCES data average $20,555 per pupil; the 15 lowest average $4,140 — a ratio of roughly 5.0 to 1. The national average sits at $13,239. Numbers that far apart raise an obvious question: what is the money at the top actually buying that the counties at the bottom go without?
The honest answer is that the two ends of this table are mostly not buying different quantities of the same thing. They are operating under different costs, different geographies, and different state funding formulas — and a large share of the gap disappears, or at least changes meaning, once those differences are taken into account. This analysis walks through both tables and the three factors that explain most of the spread: sparsity, regional prices, and state finance design.
The 15 Highest-Spending Counties
Ranked by per-pupil current expenditure from highest to lowest. County names link to full profiles.
Rank
1
County
- State
- New York
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $26,327
- Graduation Rate
- 85.2%
- School Score
- 62.8
Rank
2
County
- State
- California
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $23,219
- Graduation Rate
- N/A
- School Score
- 100
Rank
3
County
- State
- Alaska
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $22,316
- Graduation Rate
- 70.9%
- School Score
- 50.9
Rank
4
County
- State
- New York
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $21,940
- Graduation Rate
- 78.5%
- School Score
- 54.3
Rank
5
County
- State
- Massachusetts
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $21,423
- Graduation Rate
- 92.0%
- School Score
- 83.7
Rank
6
County
- State
- Alaska
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $20,268
- Graduation Rate
- 90.0%
- School Score
- 75.6
Rank
7
County
- State
- Alaska
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $20,058
- Graduation Rate
- 78.7%
- School Score
- 54.4
Rank
8
County
- State
- New York
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $19,993
- Graduation Rate
- 93.4%
- School Score
- 89.3
Rank
9
County
- State
- Nebraska
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $19,491
- Graduation Rate
- 75.0%
- School Score
- 52.3
Rank
10
- State
- Alaska
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $19,133
- Graduation Rate
- 90.0%
- School Score
- 75.5
Rank
11
County
- State
- New York
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $18,908
- Graduation Rate
- 91.6%
- School Score
- 81
Rank
12
County
- State
- Nebraska
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $18,861
- Graduation Rate
- 75.0%
- School Score
- 52.2
Rank
13
County
- State
- New York
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $18,848
- Graduation Rate
- 86.1%
- School Score
- 64.3
Rank
14
County
- State
- New York
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $18,781
- Graduation Rate
- 79.3%
- School Score
- 54.7
Rank
15
- State
- Alaska
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $18,754
- Graduation Rate
- 75.0%
- School Score
- 52.2
| Rank | County | State | Per-Pupil Spending | Graduation Rate | School Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton County | New York | $26,327 | 85.2% | 62.8 |
| 2 | Alpine County | California | $23,219 | N/A | 100 |
| 3 | Bristol Bay Borough | Alaska | $22,316 | 70.9% | 50.9 |
| 4 | New York County | New York | $21,940 | 78.5% | 54.3 |
| 5 | Dukes County | Massachusetts | $21,423 | 92.0% | 83.7 |
| 6 | Aleutians East Borough | Alaska | $20,268 | 90.0% | 75.6 |
| 7 | Nome Census Area | Alaska | $20,058 | 78.7% | 54.4 |
| 8 | Putnam County | New York | $19,993 | 93.4% | 89.3 |
| 9 | Wheeler County | Nebraska | $19,491 | 75.0% | 52.3 |
| 10 | Wrangell City and Borough | Alaska | $19,133 | 90.0% | 75.5 |
| 11 | Nassau County | New York | $18,908 | 91.6% | 81 |
| 12 | Sioux County | Nebraska | $18,861 | 75.0% | 52.2 |
| 13 | Rockland County | New York | $18,848 | 86.1% | 64.3 |
| 14 | Sullivan County | New York | $18,781 | 79.3% | 54.7 |
| 15 | Hoonah-Angoon Census Area | Alaska | $18,754 | 75.0% | 52.2 |
Why the Top of the Table Is Expensive: Two Different Stories
High-spending counties arrive at the top by two largely separate routes. The most represented states are New York (6), Alaska (5), and Nebraska (2), together accounting for 13 of 15 counties.
The first route is the high-cost metro corridor, concentrated in New York and its Northeast neighbors: strong property-tax bases, expensive labor markets, and state funding traditions that channel substantial revenue into schools. Teacher salaries that would be extravagant in the rural South are the market-clearing rate in these counties, so a large share of the headline spending is absorbed simply by paying regional prices for the same staff.
The second route is sparsity. Remote counties — Alaska boroughs are the canonical case, with parts of Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota behaving similarly — spend heavily per pupil because they cannot spend efficiently. A district serving 60 students across hundreds of square miles still needs a building, a principal, heating, and bus routes or even flights; divided by tiny enrollment, fixed costs produce spectacular per-pupil figures. Many states add explicit sparsity or small-school adjustments to their funding formulas, which is policy working as designed, not waste.
A Dollar Here Is Not a Dollar There
Tip
Before comparing spending across states, compare each county to its own state average on its profile page. Within-state comparisons hold most cost and formula differences constant.
Every figure in these tables is nominal. NCES reports raw dollars, unadjusted for regional wages or cost of living, and that adjustment matters more at the extremes than anywhere else in the distribution. Education researchers often apply a comparable-wage adjustment before comparing districts across regions, because roughly 80% of school operating budgets is compensation; when local wages differ by half, so does the cost of an identical staffing model.
Adjusted for local costs, a $25,000 county in the New York metro area and a $12,000 county in a low-wage Southern labor market can be closer in real classroom resources than the raw gap suggests. The unadjusted numbers are still worth publishing — they show where the dollars flow — but they measure budgets, not purchasing power.
The 15 Lowest-Spending Counties
Ranked by per-pupil current expenditure from lowest to highest — the opposite tail of the same distribution.
Rank
1
County
- State
- Alabama
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $3,173
- Graduation Rate
- 85.3%
- School Score
- 12.9
Rank
2
County
- State
- Oregon
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $3,289
- Graduation Rate
- 83.6%
- School Score
- 9.7
Rank
3
- State
- Alaska
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $3,314
- Graduation Rate
- 66.3%
- School Score
- 0.5
Rank
4
County
- State
- Oregon
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $3,412
- Graduation Rate
- 88.1%
- School Score
- 20.2
Rank
5
County
- State
- Idaho
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $4,034
- Graduation Rate
- 92.0%
- School Score
- 33.8
Rank
6
County
- State
- Florida
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $4,060
- Graduation Rate
- 90.0%
- School Score
- 25.8
Rank
7
County
- State
- Arizona
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $4,266
- Graduation Rate
- 88.7%
- School Score
- 21.6
Rank
8
County
- State
- Utah
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $4,312
- Graduation Rate
- 96.2%
- School Score
- 47
Rank
9
County
- State
- Indiana
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $4,410
- Graduation Rate
- 77.2%
- School Score
- 4
Rank
10
County
- State
- Idaho
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $4,493
- Graduation Rate
- 91.9%
- School Score
- 32
Rank
11
County
- State
- Kentucky
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $4,566
- Graduation Rate
- 92.0%
- School Score
- 33.9
Rank
12
County
- State
- Indiana
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $4,568
- Graduation Rate
- 92.0%
- School Score
- 33.9
Rank
13
County
- State
- Nevada
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $4,661
- Graduation Rate
- 84.0%
- School Score
- 10.6
Rank
14
County
- State
- Indiana
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $4,752
- Graduation Rate
- 97.0%
- School Score
- 48.8
Rank
15
County
- State
- Idaho
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $4,790
- Graduation Rate
- 86.8%
- School Score
- 15.9
| Rank | County | State | Per-Pupil Spending | Graduation Rate | School Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barbour County | Alabama | $3,173 | 85.3% | 12.9 |
| 2 | Baker County | Oregon | $3,289 | 83.6% | 9.7 |
| 3 | Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area | Alaska | $3,314 | 66.3% | 0.5 |
| 4 | Harney County | Oregon | $3,412 | 88.1% | 20.2 |
| 5 | Oneida County | Idaho | $4,034 | 92.0% | 33.8 |
| 6 | Hendry County | Florida | $4,060 | 90.0% | 25.8 |
| 7 | Yuma County | Arizona | $4,266 | 88.7% | 21.6 |
| 8 | Juab County | Utah | $4,312 | 96.2% | 47 |
| 9 | Randolph County | Indiana | $4,410 | 77.2% | 4 |
| 10 | Madison County | Idaho | $4,493 | 91.9% | 32 |
| 11 | Nicholas County | Kentucky | $4,566 | 92.0% | 33.9 |
| 12 | Switzerland County | Indiana | $4,568 | 92.0% | 33.9 |
| 13 | Carson City | Nevada | $4,661 | 84.0% | 10.6 |
| 14 | Miami County | Indiana | $4,752 | 97.0% | 48.8 |
| 15 | Franklin County | Idaho | $4,790 | 86.8% | 15.9 |
Why the Bottom Is Low: Formulas, Scale, and Revenue Limits
The low end has its own geography. The most represented states are Idaho (3), Indiana (3), and Oregon (2), together accounting for 8 of 15 counties.
Three forces recur. State finance formulas set the floor: states like Utah, Idaho, and Arizona have historically funded schools at low per-pupil levels statewide, so their counties fill the bottom of national tables regardless of local decisions. Enrollment scale works in the opposite direction from the sparsity story above — fast-growing districts with large schools spread fixed costs across many students, holding per-pupil figures down. And local revenue limits, whether from modest property wealth or statutory caps on levies, constrain what communities can add on top of the state allocation.
What low spending does not automatically indicate is neglect or failure. Several counties in this table report graduation rates at or above the national average, which is a useful reminder that the spending column measures inputs under local prices, not the quality of what happens in classrooms.
High Spend Is Not High Scores — in Either Direction
Important
Avoid reading either table as a ranking of school quality. The correlation between spending and outcomes at the county level is loose, and both are driven by shared underlying conditions this dataset cannot separate.
The completion figures alongside the two tables make the point directly: the highest-spending counties average a 82.9% graduation rate, the lowest-spending average 87.4%, and both groups contain counties well above and below their group mean. The gap in outcomes is far smaller than the gap in dollars, and individual counties break the pattern in both directions.
None of this settles the long-running research debate about whether money matters in education — careful causal studies generally find that sustained, well-targeted funding increases do improve outcomes. What this county-level snapshot can say is narrower: at the extremes of the distribution, spending rank is dominated by costs, geography, and formulas, so it makes a poor proxy for school quality. A county's position in these tables is a fact about its finance environment first and its schools second.
How to Use the Spending Extremes
For researchers and relocating families, the extremes are most useful as calibration for reading every other county:
- Treat any county above roughly twice the national average as a flag for sparsity or regional costs — check enrollment and geography on the county profile before comparing it to anywhere else.
- Treat very low spending as a prompt to look at the state formula: if neighboring counties in the same state report similar figures, the driver is statewide policy, not the local district.
- Read spending beside graduation rate and the School Score in the comparison view; divergence between the finance and completion columns is where the interesting local questions live.
- Use the national tables on the insights page to see where a county sits in the full distribution — the middle 90% of counties are far more comparable to each other than either tail is to anything.
Methodology
Per-pupil expenditure comes from the NCES School District Finance Survey (F-33), aggregated to the county level: current operating spending divided by fall enrollment, excluding capital outlays and debt service, in nominal dollars with no regional cost adjustment. Graduation rates are four-year ACGR from the NCES Common Core of Data. The national average of $13,239 reflects the most recent complete NCES release. Group averages are unweighted means across each 15-county tail, and counties with missing values are excluded from the affected average. Tables regenerate with each dataset update.
Sources and Review
Data vintage: NCES 2022-23 public school and school-finance releases. Data sources are selected for this article's metric focus. County figures are informational estimates and may differ from other published analyses due to methodology, aggregation, suppression, or reporting-year differences. Last editorial review checked source links, data vintage, visible caveats, and county-profile links.
Continue the Research
Use this article as a starting point, then verify county-level signals against official district and state records.