Data from the U.S. Census Bureau from 2013 has been compiled and reveals how much each state and its districts spend on education per pupil compared to the national average of $10,700 per pupil.

At the extreme of both ends of the spectrum, New York spends the most with $19,818 spent per pupil and Utah the least with $6,555.

"There’s an even larger range separating the lowest- and highest-spending of the nation’s largest 100 school districts: At the low end is Jordan, Utah, at $5,708 per student; at the high end is Boston, Mass., at $20,502," according to The Washington Post.

There are several factors behind the discrepancies in spending across states. For one, because the cost of living varies nationwide, so does the cost of everything down to teacher salary to the cost of "building and maintaining school salaries," the Post said.

For two, many schools' budgets have not adapted to post-recession times. Further, political decisions often have a huge effect on how much money is allocated to education spending per state.

In Utah's case, specifically, students "represent a share of Utah's population greater than most states, according to Mark Peterson, spokesman for the Utah State Office of Education," according to TheDesertNews.com. 

On the other end of the spectrum, New York spends consistently more than the national average by thousands of dollars throughout the state, even when compared to states with similar education lobbies and union power, according to The Buffalo News.

"The high spending, however, doesn’t guarantee better results, especially in large urban districts such as Buffalo and Rochester that consistently fall among the lowest-performing in the state for graduation rates and standardized test scores," the Buffalo News said.

Buffalo's per student spending is the fifth most in the entire country.

To see how your state compares, click here for an interactive map from The Washington Post. Comment your thoughts below.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

06/03/2015