Utah taxpayers hear a familiar statistic almost every year: Utah spends less per student on public education than nearly every other state.
That is true.
But spending is only one side of the education equation. The other question is what students are achieving with those dollars.
The latest national data show an interesting combination. Utah ranks near the very bottom of the country in current public-school spending per student, while Utah students continue to perform above the national public-school average on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP.
That makes Utah worth a closer look.
UTAH REALLY DOES SPEND LESS PER STUDENT
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 Annual Survey of School System Finances, Utah recorded $11,347 in current spending per pupil in fiscal year 2024. Only Idaho, at $11,060, spent less among the 50 states.
The nationwide average was $17,619 per student, meaning Utah’s current per-pupil spending was about 36% below the national average. Arizona spent $12,003 per student, Nevada $14,812 and Colorado $15,908.
It is important to understand what those numbers measure. The Census Bureau defines “current spending” as the operational cost of educating students. It excludes debt service and capital expenditures such as school construction, land and equipment. The figures also are not adjusted for differences in cost of living among states.
So this is not a measurement of every education-related dollar spent in Utah. But it is the standard federal comparison of the ongoing cost of operating public schools.
If lower spending automatically produced weaker academic results, Utah would be expected to perform near the bottom of national academic comparisons as well.
It does not.
UTAH STUDENTS OUTPERFORM THE NATIONAL AVERAGE ON NAEP
NAEP, commonly called the “Nation’s Report Card,” gives the same assessments to representative samples of students around the country, making it one of the most useful tools for comparing academic performance among states.
On the 2024 assessment, Utah’s average scores were above the national public-school averages in fourth- and eighth-grade mathematics and reading.
In fourth-grade math, Utah students averaged 242, compared with 237 nationally. Forty-five percent of Utah students scored at or above NAEP Proficient, compared with 40% nationally.
In eighth-grade math, Utah students averaged 282, compared with 272 nationally. Thirty-five percent of Utah students reached NAEP Proficient or Advanced, compared with 27% nationally. NAEP found Utah’s average score was statistically higher than the scores in 37 states or jurisdictions, statistically lower than one, and not significantly different from 13 others.
Utah also performed above the national average in reading. Fourth graders averaged 219, compared with 214 nationally, and 36% reached NAEP Proficient or Advanced, compared with 30% nationally.
Utah eighth graders averaged 261 in reading, compared with 257 nationally. There is an important caution in that number: Utah’s eighth-grade reading score fell from about 265 in 2022 to 261 in 2024, and NAEP identified that decline as statistically significant.
In other words, Utah remains above the national average, but not every trend is moving in the right direction.
THE WESTERN COMPARISON IS STRIKING
Comparing Utah with nearby Western states provides additional context.
Colorado spent $15,908 per pupil, roughly 40% more than Utah, and posted an eighth-grade math average of about 278. Idaho spent slightly less than Utah, at $11,060, and also averaged about 278. Arizona spent $12,003 and averaged about 270, while Nevada spent $14,812 and averaged about 265. Utah’s average was about 282.
Those figures should not be interpreted to mean lower spending causes higher test scores. They do not establish that relationship. Student demographics, household income, school policy, teacher labor markets, curriculum and many other factors can affect academic performance.
But they do demonstrate an important limitation of spending comparisons: higher per-pupil spending does not, by itself, tell us whether students will achieve stronger academic results.
GRADUATION RATES HAVE ALSO IMPROVED
Utah’s graduation numbers provide another useful measure.
The state’s four-year cohort graduation rate reached 89.8% for the class of 2025, up from 88.8% in 2024 and 85.9% in 2017.
A total of 49,442 students graduated from Utah high schools in 2025, according to the Utah State Board of Education.
That represents a meaningful long-term improvement, although graduation rates measure something different from the academic skills measured by NAEP.
SPENDING IS AN INPUT. STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IS AN OUTCOME.
None of these figures prove Utah’s education system is perfectly funded or that every education dollar is being used effectively.
They also do not prove that additional education spending could not improve student outcomes. Cross-state comparisons cannot isolate all of the demographic, economic and policy differences that affect student performance.
What the numbers do show is that Utah combines very low current spending per pupil with academic results that remain above the national average on NAEP.
In fiscal year 2024, only one state spent less per student on current public-school operations. Yet Utah’s students outperformed the national public-school average in all four major fourth- and eighth-grade NAEP math and reading assessments. Utah’s four-year graduation rate has also risen from 85.9% in 2017 to 89.8% in 2025.
For taxpayers, that provides useful context for education-funding debates. Comparing appropriations or per-pupil spending tells us how much goes into the system. Measures such as NAEP performance and graduation rates help show what comes out of it.
A complete evaluation of Utah’s public schools should consider both.
SOURCES
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of School System Finances
National Center for Education Statistics, 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress
Utah State Board of Education, 2025 Graduation Rates
Education Law Center, Making the Grade 2025