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How does school spending in the United States compare to other nations?

The United States consistently ranks as one of the highest-spending nations on education among developed countries, both on a per-student basis and as a percentage of its economic output. However, this high level of investment does not directly correlate with top-tier academic performance on international assessments, a fact that highlights the complexity of the U.S. education system [2, 3].

Spending Metrics Compared to Other Nations

Per-Student Expenditures Data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), analyzing OECD figures, shows that the U.S. spends more per student on elementary and secondary education than the average for other developed countries.

In 2019, the U.S. spent $15,700 per full-time-equivalent (FTE) student on elementary and secondary education. This was 46% higher than the OECD average of $10,800 [5, 6].
This figure places the United States’ spending above that of countries like Canada, Germany, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom [5].
Only a few countries, such as Luxembourg and Switzerland, spend more per student than the U.S. [5, 7].

Expenditures as a Percentage of GDP When measured as a share of national wealth (Gross Domestic Product), the U.S. also demonstrates a strong commitment to funding education.

In 2019, the U.S. spent 3.7% of its GDP on elementary and secondary education, which was higher than the OECD average of 3.4% [5, 6].
When all levels of education are combined (from primary to tertiary), the U.S. spent 6.3% of its GDP, again exceeding the OECD average of 4.9% [5].

The Spending vs. Performance Paradox

Despite this high level of financial investment, U.S. student performance on international benchmarks like the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is generally average.

In the 2022 PISA results, U.S. students scored near the OECD average in mathematics and science, and above the average in reading [3].
While not poor, these results do not place the U.S. among the top-performing nations, leading to questions about the efficiency of its education spending compared to countries that spend less but achieve better outcomes [3, 4].

Why Simple Comparisons Can Be Misleading

Several factors complicate direct international comparisons of education spending and make the U.S. case unique.

Vast Internal Disparities: The United States is not a single, centralized education system but rather a collection of 50 state systems with significant variation in funding and governance. The Economic Policy Institute argues that national averages mask enormous spending gaps between high-spending states (like New York) and low-spending states (like Mississippi). Therefore, comparing the U.S. as a whole to a smaller, more homogeneous country like Finland can be misleading. State-to-state comparisons are often more useful for policy analysis [2].
High Costs and Non-Instructional Spending: Critics of simple spending comparisons, such as Freddie deBoer, point out that a significant portion of U.S. education spending goes toward non-instructional services that are not as prevalent in other countries’ school budgets. U.S. schools often provide extensive student transportation, health services, and meal programs, particularly for a large population of students living in poverty. These costs, combined with higher salaries and a higher cost of living in many parts of the U.S., mean that the amount of money reaching the classroom for direct instruction may be less exceptional than the top-line figures suggest [4].

In conclusion, while the U.S. is a global leader in the amount of money it allocates to education, its academic outcomes remain in the middle of the pack among developed nations. This discrepancy is explained in part by the country’s decentralized system, significant state-by-state spending inequality, and the broader social support roles that American schools are expected to fulfill [2, 4, 5].

Sources

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). This is the primary U.S. federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education. It serves as an authoritative source for statistics on spending, enrollment, and student achievement. The NCES provided the core data used throughout this response via its specific reports. https://nces.ed.gov/
Bringing it back home: Why state comparisons are more useful than international comparisons for improving U.S. education policy – Economic Policy Institute. This source argues that comparing the U.S. national average for education spending and performance to other countries is misleading due to the vast diversity and inequality between U.S. states. It advocates for state-level comparisons as a more effective tool for policy-making. https://www.epi.org/publication/bringing-it-back-home-why-state-comparisons-are-more-useful-than-international-comparisons-for-improving-u-s-education-policy/
PISA 2022 U.S. Results – NCES. This report provides the data showing that U.S. students perform near the OECD average on international assessments in math and science, and above average in reading. This data highlights the disconnect between high spending and average academic outcomes. https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pisa/pisa2022/
Elite Education Journalism: Still Ideology at Its Purest – Freddie deBoer (Substack). This author expresses a critical view of mainstream education analysis. He argues that simple claims that the U.S. vastly outspends other countries are flawed because they often fail to account for the high costs of non-instructional services (like poverty support and health care) that U.S. schools are uniquely burdened with. https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/elite-education-journalism-still
Education Expenditures by Country – NCES Condition of Education. This is a primary data source showing that the U.S. spends significantly more per student and a higher percentage of its GDP on elementary and secondary education compared to the OECD average. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cmd/education-expenditures-by-country
Education at a Glance 2023: Putting U.S. Data in a Global Context – IES Blog. This blog post summarizes the OECD’s “Education at a Glance” report, confirming that the U.S. spends more per student on primary to postsecondary education than the OECD average and most other G7 nations. https://ies.ed.gov/learn/blog/education-glance-2023-putting-u-s-data-global-context
These countries spend the most on education – World Economic Forum. This article corroborates the NCES data, presenting an overview of OECD countries and highlighting that the U.S. is among the highest spenders on education as a proportion of its GDP. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2019/10/education-spending-highest-school-brazil-chile-italy-mexico/