What Tennessee School Districts Spend Per Student
The median Tennessee school district spends $10,710 per student per year, $3,833 below the national median of $14,543, across all 141 districts the state reports. The 140 of them a ZIP code can reach are listed below, and their 984,331 students account for $11.1 billion of current spending in fiscal year 2022.
Tennessee at a Glance
| Median district, per student | $10,710 |
|---|---|
| National median district | $14,543 |
| Districts listed | 140 of 141 |
| Students listed | 984,331 |
| Median district, math | ≈38% |
| Median district, reading | ≈33% |
Every Tennessee District, by Enrollment
Spending is current spending divided by fall membership for fiscal year 2022. Proficiency and graduation rates are school year 2018-19, the last year before the pandemic interrupted state testing, so the money and the results are not from the same year. A figure marked ≈ is one the federal file published as a range rather than a value, so small groups of children stay unidentifiable; it is the middle of that range and within ten points of the real one. A dash means the federal files publish no value under that district's ID. 1 further Tennessee districts are missing because the federal boundary file places them in no ZIP code, which is normal for charter and virtual districts with no attendance area.
| District | Students | Per student | Math | Reading | Graduation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby County School District | 105,596 | $13,650 | 26% | 22% | 79% |
| Metropolitan Nashville Public School District | 80,381 | $15,421 | 29% | 26% | 82% |
| Knox County School District | 60,426 | $10,538 | 38% | 40% | 91% |
| Rutherford County School District | 49,253 | $10,141 | 45% | 41% | 96% |
| Hamilton County School District | 45,176 | $12,002 | 41% | 34% | 87% |
| Williamson County School District | 41,954 | $10,710 | 71% | 67% | 97% |
| Clarksville-Montgomery County School System | 37,680 | $10,208 | 45% | 41% | 94% |
| Sumner County School District | 30,245 | $10,286 | 55% | 44% | 95% |
| Wilson County School District | 19,521 | $9,390 | 53% | 47% | 96% |
| Robertson County School District | 14,343 | $9,085 | 33% | 31% | 95% |
| Sevier County School District | 14,304 | $12,077 | 37% | 32% | 91% |
| Maury County School District | 13,160 | $10,063 | 24% | 25% | 88% |
| Jackson-Madison County School System | 12,336 | $10,363 | 21% | 21% | 88% |
| Putnam County School District | 11,981 | $10,052 | 38% | 36% | 91% |
| Tipton County School District | 10,300 | $9,659 | 49% | 36% | 96% |
| Blount County School District | 10,281 | $11,214 | 36% | 33% | 93% |
| Hamblen County School District | 10,121 | $10,235 | 36% | 34% | 94% |
| Bradley County School District | 10,103 | $9,558 | 40% | 36% | 94% |
| Murfreesboro City School District (elementary district) | 9,365 | $11,342 | 53% | 37% | — |
| Collierville School District | 9,060 | $11,370 | 62% | 61% | 95% |
| Bedford County School District | 8,836 | $9,064 | 28% | 26% | 91% |
| Bartlett City School District | 8,826 | $11,206 | 53% | 46% | 98% |
| Sullivan County School District | 8,475 | $11,164 | 32% | 34% | 95% |
| Washington County School District | 8,252 | $10,021 | 47% | 45% | 95% |
| Dickson County School District | 8,078 | $10,297 | 45% | 39% | 94% |
| Johnson City School District | 7,799 | $11,545 | 60% | 49% | 92% |
| Kingsport City School District | 7,629 | $11,438 | 47% | 43% | 94% |
| Cumberland County School District | 7,180 | $9,458 | 40% | 38% | 91% |
| Jefferson County School District | 6,995 | $10,101 | 32% | 31% | 96% |
| Lawrence County School District | 6,871 | $9,908 | 40% | 37% | 97% |
| Anderson County School District | 6,357 | $11,475 | 36% | 32% | 96% |
| Roane County School District | 6,304 | $11,148 | 40% | 36% | 94% |
| Warren County School District | 6,300 | $10,100 | 29% | 29% | 91% |
| Hawkins County School District | 6,273 | $11,500 | 32% | 32% | 96% |
| Greene County School District | 6,208 | $10,137 | 41% | 31% | 93% |
| Germantown Municipal School District | 6,074 | $10,888 | 66% | 63% | 95% |
| Union County School District | 5,905 | $5,560 | 21% | 24% | ≈92% |
| Cheatham County School District | 5,786 | $9,170 | 39% | 32% | 92% |
| Cleveland City School District | 5,730 | $10,816 | 32% | 34% | 90% |
| Maryville City School District | 5,604 | $11,424 | 61% | 58% | 95% |
| Marshall County School District | 5,272 | $9,986 | 40% | 34% | 95% |
| Campbell County School District | 5,250 | $10,175 | 28% | 26% | 91% |
| McMinn County School District | 5,197 | $9,933 | 35% | 33% | 93% |
| Franklin County School District | 5,146 | $10,515 | 27% | 30% | 90% |
| Monroe County School District | 4,993 | $11,307 | 28% | 30% | 93% |
| Arlington Community School District | 4,962 | $10,029 | 61% | 57% | 97% |
| Loudon County School District | 4,790 | $10,413 | 52% | 39% | 93% |
| Carter County School District | 4,766 | $11,253 | 35% | 31% | 89% |
| Oak Ridge City School District | 4,757 | $13,601 | 37% | 41% | 92% |
| Johnson County School District | 4,551 | $7,229 | 38% | 31% | ≈98% |
| Cocke County School District | 4,333 | $10,484 | 31% | 31% | 92% |
| Coffee County School District | 4,257 | $11,238 | 35% | 36% | 90% |
| Rhea County School District | 4,112 | $11,031 | 42% | 36% | 92% |
| Claiborne County School District | 4,081 | $11,667 | 35% | 32% | 93% |
| Macon County School District | 4,079 | $9,456 | 38% | 32% | 90% |
| Lebanon Special School District (elementary district) | 4,052 | $10,806 | 49% | 37% | — |
| Henderson County School District | 3,988 | $9,974 | 51% | 42% | 93% |
| Weakley County School District | 3,981 | $10,601 | 44% | 40% | 87% |
| Bristol City School District | 3,939 | $11,961 | 44% | 43% | 94% |
| Marion County School District | 3,921 | $10,195 | 26% | 28% | 88% |
| Lincoln County School District | 3,920 | $9,586 | 44% | 39% | 92% |
| Gibson County School District | 3,905 | $9,328 | 60% | 44% | 92% |
| McNairy County School District | 3,893 | $10,521 | 35% | 33% | 94% |
| White County School District | 3,837 | $9,771 | 37% | 30% | 97% |
| Giles County School District | 3,694 | $10,299 | 38% | 31% | 93% |
| Dyer County School District | 3,660 | $10,984 | 54% | 39% | 97% |
| Tullahoma City School District | 3,618 | $11,873 | 28% | 28% | 91% |
| Lauderdale County School District | 3,598 | $11,506 | 33% | 25% | 98% |
| Hardin County School District | 3,408 | $10,437 | 28% | 29% | 96% |
| Hardeman County School District | 3,333 | $11,428 | 22% | 22% | 82% |
| Franklin Special School District (elementary district) | 3,251 | $17,848 | 64% | 51% | — |
| Hickman County School District | 3,208 | $11,000 | 29% | 29% | 94% |
| Fayette County School District | 3,186 | $11,140 | 19% | 20% | 91% |
| Obion County School District | 3,120 | $11,247 | 38% | 39% | 87% |
| Grainger County School District | 3,112 | $11,165 | 33% | 29% | 96% |
| Overton County School District | 3,090 | $9,476 | 39% | 32% | 92% |
| Henry County School District | 3,053 | $10,338 | 33% | 36% | 95% |
| Smith County School District | 2,991 | $10,034 | 44% | 36% | 93% |
| Greeneville City School District | 2,943 | $12,303 | 46% | 41% | 97% |
| DeKalb County School District | 2,933 | $9,893 | 33% | 30% | ≈92% |
| Morgan County School District | 2,789 | $11,342 | 17% | 20% | ≈100% |
| Haywood County School District | 2,757 | $12,505 | 20% | 20% | 92% |
| Humphreys County School District | 2,747 | $10,658 | 35% | 33% | ≈98% |
| Chester County School District | 2,715 | $9,448 | 46% | 41% | 96% |
| Elizabethton City School District | 2,647 | $11,642 | 48% | 43% | ≈87% |
| Scott County School District | 2,613 | $11,555 | 28% | 31% | ≈92% |
| Dyersburg City School District | 2,608 | $11,567 | 47% | 38% | ≈92% |
| Millington Municipal School District | 2,540 | $10,917 | 31% | 29% | 92% |
| Lenoir City School District | 2,512 | $10,610 | 40% | 33% | 93% |
| Unicoi County School District | 2,234 | $11,252 | 33% | 30% | 92% |
| Fentress County School District | 2,225 | $9,575 | 37% | 35% | ≈98% |
| Wayne County School District | 2,202 | $11,455 | 24% | 31% | ≈92% |
| Alcoa City School District | 2,167 | $12,531 | 41% | 37% | ≈98% |
| Polk County School District | 2,147 | $11,761 | 38% | 33% | ≈92% |
| Benton County School District | 2,105 | $11,334 | 39% | 35% | ≈98% |
| Sequatchie County School District | 2,049 | $10,190 | 28% | 27% | ≈87% |
| Stewart County School District | 1,987 | $10,918 | 40% | 40% | ≈98% |
| Crockett County School District | 1,974 | $9,616 | 41% | 29% | 96% |
| Milan Special School District | 1,946 | $10,927 | 52% | 37% | ≈98% |
| Cannon County School District | 1,944 | $10,244 | 26% | 26% | ≈92% |
| Lakeland School System District (elementary district) | 1,903 | $10,418 | 74% | 63% | — |
| Grundy County School District | 1,823 | $10,653 | 25% | 26% | ≈92% |
| Athens City Schools (elementary district) | 1,767 | $10,659 | 50% | 40% | — |
| Meigs County School District | 1,750 | $10,406 | 34% | 32% | ≈98% |
| Lewis County School District | 1,669 | $10,198 | 34% | 33% | ≈98% |
| Bledsoe County School District | 1,628 | $11,389 | 32% | 28% | ≈92% |
| Paris Special School District (elementary district) | 1,548 | $11,353 | 46% | 34% | — |
| Union City School District | 1,545 | $11,833 | 37% | 31% | ≈92% |
| Manchester City School District (elementary district) | 1,522 | $11,827 | 35% | 34% | — |
| Decatur County School District | 1,489 | $10,627 | 50% | 33% | ≈92% |
| Sweetwater City School District (elementary district) | 1,486 | $9,411 | 34% | 28% | — |
| Jackson County School District | 1,473 | $10,789 | 28% | 29% | ≈98% |
| Trousdale County School District | 1,402 | $9,819 | 55% | 44% | ≈98% |
| Oneida Special School District | 1,369 | $9,338 | 30% | 39% | ≈98% |
| Huntingdon Special School District | 1,362 | $9,960 | 37% | 34% | ≈98% |
| Trenton Special School District | 1,358 | $10,482 | 37% | 26% | ≈98% |
| Houston County School District | 1,289 | $10,593 | 25% | 32% | ≈92% |
| Fayetteville City School District | 1,266 | $11,483 | 33% | 27% | ≈92% |
| McKenzie Special School District | 1,240 | $9,640 | 43% | 37% | ≈98% |
| Clay County School District | 1,091 | $10,912 | 31% | 28% | ≈98% |
| Humboldt City School District | 1,078 | $12,948 | 15% | 15% | ≈85% |
| Perry County School District | 1,040 | $12,553 | 27% | 30% | ≈98% |
| Hancock County School District | 1,009 | $12,024 | 16% | 23% | ≈98% |
| Clinton City School District (elementary district) | 968 | $11,305 | 55% | 44% | — |
| Moore County School District | 915 | $12,031 | 35% | 33% | ≈98% |
| Lexington City School System (elementary district) | 870 | $11,109 | 42% | 32% | — |
| West Carroll Special District | 839 | $11,190 | 30% | 31% | ≈92% |
| Dayton City Elementary School District (elementary district) | 820 | $10,618 | 46% | 35% | — |
| Lake County School District | 762 | $12,059 | 20% | 23% | ≈95% |
| Van Buren County School District | 754 | $12,176 | 40% | 30% | ≈95% |
| Newport City School District (elementary district) | 674 | $11,862 | 41% | 41% | — |
| Pickett County School District | 656 | $11,282 | 18% | 29% | ≈95% |
| Rogersville City Schools (elementary district) | 651 | $11,051 | 45% | 39% | — |
| Bradford Special School District | 637 | $11,135 | 51% | 35% | ≈95% |
| Hollow Rock-Bruceton Special School District | 633 | $10,118 | 37% | 30% | ≈95% |
| Alamo City School District (elementary district) | 606 | $9,252 | 60% | 47% | — |
| Bells City School District (elementary district) | 392 | $10,324 | ≈62% | ≈32% | — |
| Etowah City School District (elementary district) | 358 | $10,631 | 45% | 31% | — |
| South Carroll Special School District | 315 | $10,025 | ≈42% | ≈42% | ≈90% |
| Richard City Special School District | 218 | $11,500 | ≈32% | ≈32% | ≈90% |
Sources
Spending and enrollment come from the NCES School District Finance Survey (F-33) for fiscal year 2022. Proficiency and graduation rates come from EDFacts for school year 2018-19. Districts are matched to ZIP codes through the NCES EDGE geographic relationship file. Nothing on this page is estimated or modelled: a figure is read from a federal source file or it is left blank.
Questions About Tennessee School Spending
How much does the average Tennessee school district spend per student?
The middle, or median, Tennessee district spent $10,710 per student in fiscal year 2022, $3,833 below the national median of $14,543. The median is the better summary here: a few very small districts spend several times what a large one does, and an average would follow them. That median covers all 141 districts the state reports. Across the 140 a ZIP code can reach, which are the ones listed on this page, 984,331 students account for $11.1 billion of current spending.
Which Tennessee districts spend the most and least per student?
Franklin Special School District reports the highest figure in the table at $17,848 per student for 3,251 students, and Union County School District the lowest at $5,560 for 5,905 students. Enrollment is the denominator, so a small district with one building and one bus route honestly produces a high figure; read the two columns together.
Why are some Tennessee districts missing from this table?
Tennessee has 141 districts with federal finance data and 140 of them appear here. The rest are placed in no ZIP code by the federal boundary file, which is normal for charter and virtual school districts that have no attendance area, so there is no ZIP code a reader could use to find them.
Does this money follow a child who is homeschooled?
No. The figure is what the district spends on a seat in its own schools, funded from local property tax, state formula aid and federal programs. Withdrawing a child removes the child from the count rather than sending the money home. TheHomeschoolingCompany is $1,788 for one student for a school year by comparison, less for each child after the first.
Look Up Your Own District
Enter a ZIP code and the calculator returns the district that serves it, what it spends per student, how its students score, and what the same school year costs at home.
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