K-12 revenue progressivity

Select a state and year (1993-2023) to display a graph summarizing the progressivity (or “fairness”) of state and local revenue to public K-12 schools. The three bars in the graph represent, for a given state in a given year, the percent difference in adjusted state and local revenue between:

1. Low (10%) poverty districts and zero poverty districts;
2. Medium (20%) poverty districts and zero poverty districts;
3. High (30%) poverty districts and zero poverty districts.

Negative numbers indicate regressive funding (low/ medium/ high poverty districts receive less revenue than zero poverty districts), whereas positive numbers indicate progressive funding (low/ medium/ high poverty districts receive more revenue than zero poverty districts). District poverty is measured with U.S. Census data, and the “predicted” revenue estimates used in these comparisons also control for labor market costs, population density, and district size. Note that progressivity estimates are not available for Hawaii and the District of Columbia, as both contain only one government-run school district. For more information on these measures, see our State Indicators Database user’s guide and our annual report. You can also download the full dataset.

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