In the United States, school enrollments continue to be on the rise across the entire pre-K–16 student population. By 2017, 60.5 million students will be enrolled in grades pre-K–12, according to the latest projections by the National Center for Education Statistics. Enrollment continues to show steady growth in the public school pre-K programs currently provided by 38 states.
Enrollment in degree-granting higher education institutions is projected to increase 13% to 20.1 million students in 2017.
Funding for pre-K–12 education in the United States reached $521 billion in the 2005-06 school year. State and local governments contributed 91% of this total and the federal government provided 9%. In any given year, more than two-thirds of state funding comes from sales and income tax. At the local level, property taxes account for approximately 60% to 65% of the local funding total.
States spent an average of $9,099 for each K–12 student in the 2005-06 school year. By 2017, expenditures are projected to increase more than 28% to $11,600 per student.