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Minnesota public school per pupil spending is above the national average.

Minnesota public school per pupil spending is now slightly below the national average. Furthermore, Minnesota current spending as a percent of personal income is well below the national average.

Based on the most recent Census of Government for FY 2002, current spending per pupil in Minnesota is now slightly below the national average. In fact, from 1997 to 2002 Minnesota elementary and seconding public school current spending per pupil fell from 6.6% above the national average to 0.1% below the national average.

Many economists feel that state rankings of school spending as a percentage of personal income are superior to rankings based on school spending per pupil because rankings based on personal income take into account the higher labor costs in high income state. Minnesota elementary and secondary public school current spending per $1,000 of personal income has fallen from 6.6% above the national average in 1997 to 6.9% below the national average in 2002 (source: 2002 Census of Governments).

Minnesota was once known as a state that generously funded its public schools. The most current rankings from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that this is no longer the case. Furthermore, the rankings based on 2002 data do not take into account funding reductions in recent years. It is quite possible that Minnesota has slipped further in the rankings since 2002.

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