Track Every Dollar
New Jersey: every school dollar
Where New Jersey'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$41.5 billion
- Spent per student, day to day$27,234U.S.: $17,619
- Students1,323,927584 school systems
- Lottery money to education$842 millionFY2025
Where the money comes from
$41.5 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.
Federal $2.6 billion6.3%
Inside the federal total: $1.1 billion of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.
State $19.2 billion46.3%
Local $19.7 billion47.4%
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
$41.2 billion spent. Select support services for every line.
Inside these totals: $17.0 billion in salaries and wages, $6.3 billion in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $7.9 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
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 New Jersey in fiscal year 2025: $2.2 billion. 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 New Jersey'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.
| Program | What it is | New Jersey | Share of the national total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pell Grants | College grants to students with financial need | $957 million | 2.4% |
| School lunch | National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture) | $625 million | 2.3% |
| Title I | Grants to schools with many students from low-income families | $456 million | 2.5% |
| Special education (IDEA) | Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21 | $431 million | 3.1% |
| Head Start | Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services) | $203 million | 1.7% |
| Title II, teachers | Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training | $47.2 million | 2.2% |
| Title IV-A | Student support and academic enrichment grants | $33.6 million | 2.5% |
| After school (21st Century) | 21st Century Community Learning Centers | $31.2 million | 2.3% |
| English learners (Title III) | English language acquisition grants | $30.9 million | 3.5% |
| Impact Aid | Payments to districts with federal land or military families | $29.7 million | 1.9% |
| Career and technical education | Perkins basic grants to states | $29.1 million | 2.1% |
| Federal Work-Study | Part-time jobs for college students with need | $24.2 million | 2.1% |
| College opportunity grants (SEOG) | Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants | $19.0 million | 2.1% |
| Special education, preschool | Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5 | $12.1 million | 3.0% |
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 New Jersey spending the education lottery money?
The State Constitution dedicates lottery net proceeds to State institutions and State aid for education; since 2017 the Lottery Enterprise Contribution Act sends the proceeds to three pension systems, 77.78% to the Teachers' Pension and Annuity Fund, 21.02% to the Public Employees' Retirement System and 1.20% to the Police and Firemen's Retirement System. The lottery began in 1970.
What the law says
The promise: 77.78% of the lottery contribution goes to the Teachers' Pension and Annuity Fund, which the Act declares 'constitutes State aid for education'; the Constitution requires the entire net proceeds to be for State institutions and State aid for education.
"The lottery contribution and all proceeds of the Lottery Enterprise shall be allocated among the retirement systems in the allocable percentages as follows: 77.78 percent for the Teachers' Pension and Annuity Fund"
N.J. Const. art. IV, sec. VII, para. 2(C); P.L.2017, c.98, sec. 5 (Lottery Enterprise Contribution Act) pub.njleg.state.nj.us
- Tickets sold$3.3 billion p. 35
- Prizes 61%$2.0 billion p. 35
- Retailers 8%$261 million p. 19
- Running the lottery 2%$64.8 million p. 19
- Sent to the state for its programs 32%$1.1 billion p. 35
- Of what was sent to the state, to education$842 million p. 38
Of every dollar of New Jersey lottery tickets sold in FY2025, 25 cents reached education.
What it paid for, FY2025
Payments made during the year. They include money earned in earlier years, so they do not add up to the year's total sent to education.
- Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund (77.78%)$842 million p. 38
Since 1970: $26.0 billion p. 19 to education in total.
Every school system in New Jersey
584 school systems reported to the Census Bureau for 2023-24. See each one's money in and money out.
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 New Jersey 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: State of New Jersey FY25 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report: Basic Financial Statements, New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Office of Management and Budget (audited by the Office of the State Auditor), 2026-03-27. nj.gov
- Lottery: Teachers' Pension and Annuity Fund of New Jersey Actuarial Valuation Report as of July 1, 2025, Cheiron for the New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits. nj.gov
- Lottery: P.L.2017, c.98, Lottery Enterprise Contribution Act, New Jersey Legislature. pub.njleg.state.nj.us
- Lottery: New Jersey State Constitution, Article IV, Section VII, paragraph 2, New Jersey Legislature. njleg.state.nj.us
- Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error
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Track Every Dollar
How is New Jersey spending the education lottery money?
- Public school money, 2023-24$41.5 billion
- Spent per student$27,234
- Lottery money to education, FY2025$842 million
- Of each lottery dollar sold25 cents to education
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