[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-587835-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-587835-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","wisconsin-education-spending-falls-further-behind-national-average","Wisconsin education spending falls further behind national average","","Wisconsin public schools have lagged inflation and continued to fall further behind the U.S. average in per-pupil education spending. In 2023, Wisconsin spent $14,882 per pupil, 9.9% below the national average. The long-term ranking decline is tied to state and local tax burden and policy choices, including a two-year freeze on per-pupil revenue limits, alongside enrollment-driven effects and inflation adjustments using CPI.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/wisconsin-education-spending-falls-further-behind-national-average/587835/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/wisconsin-education-spending-falls-further-behind-national-average/587835.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Melati","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-05","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",9,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"How much did Wisconsin spend per pupil in 2023, and how does it compare nationally?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Wisconsin spent $14,882 per pupil in 2023. This was 9.9% less than the national average of $16,526.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What policy choice is identified as contributing to slower growth in Wisconsin school spending?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"A recent two-year freeze on state-imposed capson school district revenues is cited, alongside the related freeze on state per-pupil revenue limits that restrict districts’ ability to collect from state general aids and local property taxes.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"Why does the analysis focus on per-pupil spending instead of total spending alone?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Because per-pupil figures depend on student enrollment; amounts can rise if enrollment falls and drop if enrollment rises, even if overall spending stays constant.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},587835,1793038538,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,115,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":112,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,30,"research-report",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":112,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":33,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":123,"preview_page_count":4},962085570644,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d","Wisconsin education spending falls further behind national average  \nSpending per pupil by Wisconsin public schools has lagged inflation in recent years and fallen further behind the U.S. average. This is due to a series of policy choices, including a recent two-year freeze on state-imposed capson school district revenues, that have also helped to hold down state and local taxes. In a related trend, the share of Wisconsinites' incomes spent on public education has fallen below the national average.  \nW isconsin spent $14,882 per pupil on public  \nelementary and secondary education in the 2023 fiscal year, the most recent year for which U.S. Census Bureau data are available. This was 9.9% less than the national average of $16,526 .  \nWhen adjusting for inflation, Wisconsin preK-12 education spending per pupil has increased slightly (2 .4%) since 2002--the earliest year for which Census Bureau figures are available. In 2002, Wisconsin spent $14,522 per pupil in inflation-adjusted, or real, dollars, compared to $14,882 in 2023 (see Figure 1) . The national average per pupil real spending amount increased much more during this period (21.1%), from $13,043 in 2002 to $16,526 in 2023.  \nWisconsin ranked 26th among the 50 states in the per pupil amount it spent on public schools in 2023. This was down from 25th in 2020, the latest data available at the time of the Forum’s most recent analysis of this issue.  \nThis continues a long-running decline in our state’s rank for per pupil education spending, which was 11th in 2002. Wisconsin ranked seventh among 12 Midwest states in 2023, compared to first in 2002.  \nWhen statewide education spending is measured as a share of all residents ’combined personal incomes, Wisconsin also has been on a long-term decline. In the 2000s and early 2010s, Wisconsin spent a significantly larger  \nshare of personal income on education compared to the national average. This share declined to roughly match the nation for a period prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, however, that share increased nationally but continued to decline in Wisconsin.  \nThese figures are the latest examples of a decades-long shift in our state’s investment in public education and state and local tax burden relative to its peers. Observing them is particularly timely as state policymakers recently enacted the state’s next two-year budget, of which K-12 education is the largest spending priority for the state.  \nFederal data grounds analysis  \nThe U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of School System Finances collects finance information by fiscal year from public school systems across the country. It includes school districts and some charter schools, but excludes those charter schools operated by private entities as well as all private schools.  \nRevenue sources cited in the survey include federal, state, and local government funding. The data include current spending on operations such as on employee salaries and benefits, supplies, certain contractual services, as well as for maintenance and minor building repairs. However, spending on major capital projects such as facilities construction or renovation is excluded.  \nSince the vast majority of funding for preK-12 education comes from state and local sources, the spending data offer a window into policy decisions at those levels about how education spending is prioritized.  \nTo account for inflation, we use the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index to adjust past spending amounts to 2023 dollars. This was particularly valuable to analyze spending from 2020 to 2023, as inflation in this country was at or near its highest rate in decades for part of that period.  \nImpacts from revenue limit freeze  \nIn our 2022 report on this topic, we noted that future years would reflect the impact of Wisconsin’s 2021-23 state budget – and that it could mean “further slow growth in school spending here relative to the rest of the country.” That budget froze state per pupil reven","cbCaioU7jdCKlZld","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaioU7jdCKlZld","pdf",225250,"English","# Wisconsin education spending vs national average\n## Per-pupil spending figures and ranking\n## Share of personal income devoted to education\n## Federal data and measurement approach\n## Impacts from revenue limit freeze\n## Enrollment considerations","[{\"question\":\"How much did Wisconsin spend per pupil in 2023, and how does it compare nationally?\",\"answer\":\"Wisconsin spent $14,882 per pupil in 2023. This was 9.9% less than the national average of $16,526.\"},{\"question\":\"What policy choice is identified as contributing to slower growth in Wisconsin school spending?\",\"answer\":\"A recent two-year freeze on state-imposed capson school district revenues is cited, alongside the related freeze on state per-pupil revenue limits that restrict districts’ ability to collect from state general aids and local property taxes.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the analysis focus on per-pupil spending instead of total spending alone?\",\"answer\":\"Because per-pupil figures depend on student enrollment; amounts can rise if enrollment falls and drop if enrollment rises, even if overall spending stays constant.\"}]","Wisconsin education spending falls further behind national average | PDF",1792063270]