Figure E

States that rely more heavily on local funding have bigger funding gaps: Share of total spending that comes from local revenue compared to the gap between actual and adequate spending, by state

State Share of total spending that comes from local revenue Gap between actual per-pupil sending and what is needed to provide adequate funding
Alabama 0.28 -1.38
Arizona 0.37 -0.73
Arkansas 0.32 -1.17
California 0.40 -0.32
Colorado 0.41 -0.10
Connecticut 0.64 1.92
Delaware 0.29 0.48
Washington D.C. 0.86 0.48
Florida 0.42 -0.87
Georgia 0.37 -0.92
Idaho 0.20 -0.47
Illinois 0.54 0.26
Indiana 0.30 -0.30
Iowa 0.45 -0.06
Kansas 0.26 0.06
Kentucky 0.25 -0.07
Louisiana 0.48 -0.91
Maine 0.54 1.06
Maryland 0.38 0.07
Massachusetts 0.54 1.53
Michigan 0.35 -0.36
Minnesota 0.25 0.25
Mississippi 0.30 -2.35
Missouri 0.50 -0.48
Montana 0.40 -0.07
Nebraska 0.68 -0.07
Nevada 0.10 -1.12
New Hampshire 0.65 2.33
New Jersey 0.58 2.08
New Mexico 0.23 -1.08
New York 0.48 2.54
North Carolina 0.20 -0.79
North Dakota 0.36 0.47
Ohio 0.48 -0.26
Oklahoma 0.38 -0.74
Oregon 0.30 0.29
Pennsylvania 0.50 0.71
Rhode Island 0.63 1.04
South Carolina 0.36 -0.74
South Dakota 0.51 -0.30
Tennessee 0.31 -0.49
Texas 0.45 -1.44
Utah 0.41 -0.34
Virginia 0.40 -0.10
Washington 0.20 0.69
West Virginia 0.36 0.13
Wisconsin 0.49 0.13
Wyoming 0.33 1.53
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Economic Policy Institute

Note: The gap is generated by constructing z-scores of the dollar value difference between actual spending and spending that would be considered "adequate." Data are for the 2021-2022 school year.

Source: Author analysis of National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, "Local Education Agency (School District) Finance Survey" data; Albert Shanker Institute at the University of Miami School of Education and Rutgers Graduate School of Education, 2025, District Cost Database, released May 2025.

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