Where Does Wyoming Rank In Education Spending?

Before we look at the numbers it should be said, once again, that the amount of money spent on education has little to do with quality of education. Many states spend less but get better results. Many private schools and even homeschoolers spend far less but get far better results than public schools who spend much more.

Wyoming may cut $100 million from its school system due to massive budget shortfalls. But the Wyoming school system might very well be able to absorb the impact once the overly top-heavy administration end is dealt with.

With that in mind, let's see where Wyoming ranks in education spending compared to the other states.

Overall Wyoming lands in the 10th position in spending per student. Follow this link to see the graphs.

That's $16,224 per pupil per year.

The Census Bureau compiles data on education spending per pupil as well as elementary and secondary education revenues for each state in their Annual Survey of School System Finances. The most recent data, released on May 11, 2020, is from the 2018 fiscal year. (Found on the website Governing). 

According to the survey, the state that spends the least is Utah, coming in at $7,628 per pupil per year.

So, does that mean that Utah is turning out a lower quality student? Not really. Utah continues to receive top education rankings. The state is 11th for educational attainment and 8th in quality of Education, with an overall ranking as the 11th most educated state in America.