Track Every Dollar

Utah: every school dollar

Where Utah'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$8.7 billion
Spent per student, day to day$11,347U.S.: $17,619
Students609,78541 school systems
Lottery money to educationNo state lottery

Where the money comes from

$8.7 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.

Federal 8%State 51%Local 42%

Federal $685 million7.9%

All other federal money$315 million46.0%
School meals$146 million21.3%
Special education (IDEA)$121 million17.7%
Title I: schools with many low-income families$66.6 million9.7%
Career and technical education$12.1 million1.8%
Teacher and principal training (Title II)$11.4 million1.7%
English learners (Title III)$4.4 million0.6%
Impact Aid$2.9 million0.4%
After-school programs (21st Century)$2.4 million0.4%
Indian, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native education$2.0 million0.3%
Student support and enrichment (Title IV-A)$1.4 million0.2%

Inside the federal total: $169 million of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.

State $4.4 billion50.6%

General formula aid$2.0 billion46.3%
All other state money$1.1 billion25.2%
Special education$452 million10.3%
Staff improvement$365 million8.3%
Transportation$128 million2.9%
Career and technical education$94.1 million2.2%
Buildings and debt payments$88.2 million2.0%
School meals$63.7 million1.5%
Compensatory and basic skills programs$51.1 million1.2%
Gifted and talented$4.0 millionunder 0.1%
Bilingual education$15,000under 0.1%

Local $3.6 billion41.5%

Property taxes$2.9 billion80.1%
Interest, rents, donations and other$482 million13.4%
Tuition, fees, meals and other charges$224 million6.2%
From cities and counties$10.1 million0.3%
Other local taxes (sales, utility, income)$273,000under 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

$8.6 billion spent. Select support services for every line.

Teaching (instruction)$4.3 billion50.4%
Support services Details$2.3 billion26.5%
- Running and maintaining buildings$595 million26.1%
- School administration: principals' offices$436 million19.1%
- Student support: attendance, guidance, health and psychological services$405 million17.8%
- Teacher support: curriculum, training, libraries$357 million15.7%
- Business office and central services$212 million9.3%
- Student transportation$203 million8.9%
- District administration: the board and superintendent's office$71.7 million3.1%
Buildings and equipment Details$1.4 billion16.5%
Of this, construction: $952 million.
Food service and other$305 million3.5%
Interest on debt$183 million2.1%
Community services and adult education$72.9 million0.8%
Payments to state and local governments$470,000under 0.1%

Inside these totals: $4.1 billion in salaries and wages, $1.7 billion in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $4.5 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

Utah: 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 Utah in fiscal year 2025: $1.3 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 Utah'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 Utah, fiscal year 2025
Program	What it is	Utah	Share of the national total
Pell Grants	College grants to students with financial need	$894 million	2.2%
School lunch	National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture)	$192 million	0.7%
Special education (IDEA)	Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21	$142 million	1.0%
Head Start	Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services)	$122 million	1.0%
Title I	Grants to schools with many students from low-income families	$86.9 million	0.5%
College opportunity grants (SEOG)	Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants	$17.9 million	2.0%
Career and technical education	Perkins basic grants to states	$17.4 million	1.2%
Title II, teachers	Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training	$15.7 million	0.7%
Impact Aid	Payments to districts with federal land or military families	$11.0 million	0.7%
English learners (Title III)	English language acquisition grants	$7.8 million	0.9%
Federal Work-Study	Part-time jobs for college students with need	$7.2 million	0.6%
After school (21st Century)	21st Century Community Learning Centers	$7.2 million	0.5%
Title IV-A	Student support and academic enrichment grants	$6.6 million	0.5%
Special education, preschool	Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5	$3.8 million	1.0%

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 Utah spending the education lottery money?

Utah has no state lottery. "The Legislature shall not authorize any game of chance, lottery or gift enterprise under any pretense or for any purpose." Utah Constitution, Article VI, Section 27 [Games of chance not authorized.]

Every school system in Utah

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

See all 41 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 Utah 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: Utah Constitution, Article VI, Section 27 [Games of chance not authorized.], Utah State Legislature. le.utah.gov
Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error