Track Every Dollar

Pennsylvania: every school dollar

Where Pennsylvania'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$41.6 billion
Spent per student, day to day$21,091U.S.: $17,619
Students1,506,485594 school systems
Lottery money to educationLottery money goes to other purposes

Where the money comes from

$41.6 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.

Federal 10%State 38%Local 52%

Federal $4.2 billion10.1%

All other federal money$2.1 billion50.7%
School meals$775 million18.5%
Title I: schools with many low-income families$590 million14.1%
Special education (IDEA)$517 million12.3%
Teacher and principal training (Title II)$64.3 million1.5%
Student support and enrichment (Title IV-A)$42.6 million1.0%
Career and technical education$34.8 million0.8%
After-school programs (21st Century)$20.5 million0.5%
English learners (Title III)$15.8 million0.4%
Impact Aid$5.0 million0.1%
Rural schools$734,000under 0.1%

Inside the federal total: $1.6 billion of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.

State $15.6 billion37.5%

General formula aid$7.8 billion50.3%
Staff improvement$3.5 billion22.2%
All other state money$1.5 billion9.4%
Special education$1.4 billion9.0%
Transportation$893 million5.7%
Buildings and debt payments$243 million1.6%
School meals$118 million0.8%
Career and technical education$115 million0.7%
Compensatory and basic skills programs$44.6 million0.3%

Local $21.8 billion52.4%

Property taxes$16.4 billion75.5%
Other local taxes (sales, utility, income)$3.2 billion14.6%
Interest, rents, donations and other$1.7 billion7.9%
Tuition, fees, meals and other charges$379 million1.7%
From cities and counties$72.1 million0.3%

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

$40.4 billion spent. Select support services for every line.

Teaching (instruction)$22.5 billion55.8%
Support services Details$11.6 billion28.6%
- Running and maintaining buildings$3.1 billion26.8%
- Student support: attendance, guidance, health and psychological services$2.0 billion17.7%
- Student transportation$1.7 billion15.0%
- School administration: principals' offices$1.3 billion11.6%
- Business office and central services$1.3 billion11.1%
- Teacher support: curriculum, training, libraries$1.2 billion10.7%
- District administration: the board and superintendent's office$818 million7.1%
Buildings and equipment Details$3.4 billion8.5%
Of this, construction: $2.4 billion.
Food service and other$1.2 billion2.9%
Interest on debt$982 million2.4%
Community services and adult education$591 million1.5%
Payments to state and local governments$113 million0.3%

Inside these totals: $15.3 billion in salaries and wages, $10.0 billion in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $25.6 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

Pennsylvania: 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 Pennsylvania in fiscal year 2025: $2.9 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 Pennsylvania'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 Pennsylvania, fiscal year 2025
Program	What it is	Pennsylvania	Share of the national total
Pell Grants	College grants to students with financial need	$1.1 billion	2.7%
School lunch	National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture)	$970 million	3.5%
Title I	Grants to schools with many students from low-income families	$738 million	4.0%
Special education (IDEA)	Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21	$520 million	3.7%
Head Start	Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services)	$395 million	3.4%
Title II, teachers	Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training	$70.7 million	3.3%
Title IV-A	Student support and academic enrichment grants	$53.9 million	4.0%
After school (21st Century)	21st Century Community Learning Centers	$51.3 million	3.8%
Career and technical education	Perkins basic grants to states	$50.9 million	3.6%
Federal Work-Study	Part-time jobs for college students with need	$50.4 million	4.4%
College opportunity grants (SEOG)	Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants	$35.2 million	3.9%
English learners (Title III)	English language acquisition grants	$21.8 million	2.5%
Special education, preschool	Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5	$15.2 million	3.8%
Impact Aid	Payments to districts with federal land or military families	$3.1 million	0.2%

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 Pennsylvania spending the education lottery money?

Pennsylvania law keeps lottery money left after prizes and operating expenses in the State Lottery Fund for property tax relief for the elderly and free or reduced fare transit for the elderly; the Lottery funds programs for older Pennsylvanians, not education.

What the law says

"All moneys remaining after payment of prizes and operating expenses shall remain in the State Lottery Fund and shall be allocated for the purpose of providing property tax relief for the elderly"

State Lottery Law, Act 91 of 1971, Section 311(a) (72 P.S. 3761-311) palegis.us

Tickets sold$4.3 billion p. 1
Prizes 68%$2.9 billion p. 1
Retailers 5%$216 million p. 1
Running the lottery 2%$96.3 million p. 1
Sent to the state for its programs 24%$1.1 billion p. 1
Other costs and reserves 1%$31.3 million tickets sold minus the rows above
Of what was sent to the state, to educationUnknown

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.

Care/Living Services (Dept. of Human Services)$374 million p. 3
Property Tax & Rent Rebates (Dept. of Revenue), including Lottery and slots revenues$319 million p. 3
Area Agencies on Aging & Senior Centers (Dept. of Aging)$274 million p. 3
Shared & Free Ride Program (Dept. of Transportation)$169 million p. 3
PACE/PACENET (Pharmaceutical Assistance)$129 million p. 3

Since 1971: $37.2 billion p. 2 to education in total.

Still being verified: to education.

Every school system in Pennsylvania

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

See all 594 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 Pennsylvania 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: Pennsylvania Lottery Bureau, Comparative Statement of Income and Expenditures, June 30, 2025 (Annual Report FY24-25), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Revenue, Pennsylvania Lottery Bureau. palottery.pa.gov
Lottery: Pennsylvania Lottery Profit Report As Required by Act 201 of 2014 (2025), Pennsylvania Lottery. palottery.pa.gov
Lottery: Pennsylvania Lottery 24-25 Economic Benefit Impact Report, Pennsylvania Lottery. palottery.pa.gov
Lottery: State Lottery Law, Act 91 of 1971 (as amended), Pennsylvania General Assembly. palegis.us
Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error