NC ranks last in the nation for school funding effort. Here’s why

A nonpartisan organization recently ranked NC at the bottom of the nation for public education funding in several metrics, including last in the nation for school funding effort.

A recent study ranked North Carolina last in the nation for public school funding.

The Education Law Center’s 2025 “Making the Grade” report looks at how fairly states fund public schools. It compares data by state on how much each spends per student, whether schools serving more low-income students get the extra funding they need, and how much effort states make to fund education based on their overall economy.

Of all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., NC ranked No. 51 in the effort put toward funding education, placing it last in the country. Data showed that the highest-effort state, Vermont, devotes more than double the effort to fund schools than NC.

How the fight to fund NC’s public schools became the 30-year Leandro struggle

Here’s what else the study showed, what NC is doing wrong, and more.

How are public schools doing in NC? Study shows NC school funding is low

NC was the second lowest in the nation for per-pupil funding. With a rate of roughly $12,193 per student, the Tar Heel State comes in $5,660 below the national average and more than $17,000 below the nation’s highest per-pupil fund rate of $29,440 in New York.

The study also ranked funding effort by state; effort was measured as grade PK-12 revenue as a percentage of the state’s economic activity or gross domestic product. Most high-effort states generated above-average funding levels, even when they had below-average fiscal capacity.

NC ranked last in the country at No. 51 in education funding efforts. As a percentage of NC’s state wealth, PK-12 education represented 1.98%, the lowest in the nation, at a full point lower than the national average 3.1%

 

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Average public school funding in the U.S.

The average percentage of state wealth devoted to PK-12 education in the U.S. was 3.1%. The average cost-adjusted per-pupil funding was $17,853.

The study found that average per-pupil funding levels vary significantly across states, with a funding gap of over $17,000 between the highest-funded (New York) and lowest-funded (Idaho) states.

What states have the best public school funding?

According to the ELC study, the following states were the top five in the nation for education funding efforts:

• No. 1 – Vermont, 5.44% education revenue as a percentage of state wealth
• No. 2 – New Jersey, 4.75%
• No. 3 – Pennsylvania, 3.83%
• No. 4 – Illinois, 3.77%
• No. 5 – Connecticut, 3.76%

What states have the worst public school funding?

According to the ELC study, the following states were the bottom five in the nation for education funding efforts:

• No. 51 – North Carolina, 1.98% education revenue as a percentage of state wealth
• No. 50 – Arizona, 2.05%
• No. 49 – Nevada, 2.08%
• No. 48 – Florida, 2.13%
• No. 47 – Tennessee, 2.26%

Reporting by Iris Seaton, Asheville Citizen Times / Asheville Citizen Times

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect