Track Every Dollar

Nevada: every school dollar

Where Nevada's public school money comes from, where it goes, what Washington sends, and how the state spends its lottery money. Select any line for more.

Public school money, 2023-24$7.6 billion
Spent per student, day to day$14,812U.S.: $17,619
Students417,47417 school systems
Lottery money to educationNo state lottery

Where the money comes from

$7.6 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.

Federal 14%State 70%Local 16%

Federal $1.0 billion13.6%

All other federal money$696 million67.5%
Title I: schools with many low-income families$154 million15.0%
Special education (IDEA)$85.8 million8.3%
School meals$42.7 million4.1%
Student support and enrichment (Title IV-A)$14.9 million1.4%
Teacher and principal training (Title II)$14.8 million1.4%
English learners (Title III)$8.9 million0.9%
Career and technical education$7.1 million0.7%
After-school programs (21st Century)$5.7 million0.6%
Impact Aid$475,000under 0.1%
Rural schools$183,000under 0.1%

Inside the federal total: $438 million of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.

State $5.3 billion70.1%

General formula aid$3.8 billion70.8%
Special education$695 million13.0%
Bilingual education$194 million3.6%
Transportation$193 million3.6%
Compensatory and basic skills programs$193 million3.6%
All other state money$185 million3.5%
Staff improvement$44.3 million0.8%
Buildings and debt payments$32.3 million0.6%
Career and technical education$12.4 million0.2%
Gifted and talented$7.3 million0.1%
School meals$1.6 millionunder 0.1%

Local $1.2 billion16.3%

Property taxes$864 million69.6%
Interest, rents, donations and other$279 million22.5%
Tuition, fees, meals and other charges$94.0 million7.6%
From cities and counties$4.4 million0.4%
Other local taxes (sales, utility, income)$157,000under 0.1%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finances: Fiscal Year 2024. School year 2023-24. census.gov the data file

Where it goes

$7.3 billion spent. Select support services for every line.

Teaching (instruction)$3.7 billion51.2%
Support services Details$2.3 billion31.4%
- School administration: principals' offices$492 million21.5%
- Running and maintaining buildings$478 million20.9%
- Student support: attendance, guidance, health and psychological services$450 million19.7%
- Teacher support: curriculum, training, libraries$325 million14.2%
- Student transportation$260 million11.4%
- Business office and central services$219 million9.6%
- District administration: the board and superintendent's office$60.5 million2.6%
Buildings and equipment Details$873 million12.0%
Of this, construction: $684 million.
Food service and other$167 million2.3%
Interest on debt$199 million2.7%
Community services and adult education$23.7 million0.3%
Payments to state and local governments$2.1 millionunder 0.1%

Inside these totals: $3.3 billion in salaries and wages, $1.5 billion in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $4.7 billion.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finances: Fiscal Year 2024. School year 2023-24. census.gov the data file

Spending per student over time

Nevada: day-to-day spending per student, by fiscal year.

Not adjusted for inflation. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 20. summary tables

What Washington committed

Department of Education money committed for use in Nevada in fiscal year 2025: $644 million. The programs below include money from Agriculture (school meals) and Health and Human Services (Head Start), and college aid (Pell).

Why this differs from the federal line above: that line is what Nevada's schools received in the 2023-24 school year (Census). This one is what Washington committed in a later federal year, including college aid, which schools never receive.

Federal education programs in Nevada, fiscal year 2025
Program	What it is	Nevada	Share of the national total
Pell Grants	College grants to students with financial need	$224 million	0.6%
School lunch	National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture)	$201 million	0.7%
Title I	Grants to schools with many students from low-income families	$159 million	0.9%
Special education (IDEA)	Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21	$97.0 million	0.7%
Head Start	Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services)	$35.4 million	0.3%
Title II, teachers	Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training	$19.5 million	0.9%
Career and technical education	Perkins basic grants to states	$12.8 million	0.9%
Title IV-A	Student support and academic enrichment grants	$12.4 million	0.9%
After school (21st Century)	21st Century Community Learning Centers	$11.5 million	0.9%
English learners (Title III)	English language acquisition grants	$8.1 million	0.9%
Impact Aid	Payments to districts with federal land or military families	$7.6 million	0.5%
Federal Work-Study	Part-time jobs for college students with need	$6.6 million	0.6%
College opportunity grants (SEOG)	Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants	$3.7 million	0.4%
Special education, preschool	Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5	$2.5 million	0.6%

Source: USAspending.gov, U.S. Department of the Treasury. Federal fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), money committed (obligated) by state where it is used. usaspending.gov

How is Nevada spending the education lottery money?

Nevada has no state lottery. "The State and the political subdivisions thereof shall not operate a lottery." Nevada Constitution, Article 4, Section 24 (Lotteries), subsection 2

Every school system in Nevada

17 school systems reported to the Census Bureau for 2023-24. See each one's money in and money out.

See all 17 school systems

The record

School money: Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finances: Fiscal Year 2024, U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances. The district totals for Nevada were added up and checked against the Census state table on seven totals. census.gov
Federal money: Federal education spending, fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025). Money committed, by the state where it is used. usaspending.gov
Lottery: Constitution of the State of Nevada, Article 4, Section 24 (Lotteries), Nevada Legislature (Legislative Counsel Bureau). leg.state.nv.us
Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error