Are South Dakota public schools among the lowest-funded in the nation?

South Dakota spends the seventh-lowest amount per student nationally in the public school system as of 2023.

The state spends $12,005 per student, about $2,000 more than the lowest state on the list: Idaho ($10,247), which is followed by Utah ($10,333) and Oklahoma ($11,155). 

The data is collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and includes a per-student breakdown of salaries and wages, employee benefits, student support, instructional staff support, general administration and school administration. 

The top states for per-student funding are New York ($30,012) and Vermont ($26,345).

Regionally, Minnesota spends $16,117 per student, Iowa, $13,792 and Nebraska, $15,200. 

In early 2025, the South Dakota Legislature approved an increase of education funding of 1.25%, much lower than average.  

Budgets were strained even further when the federal government cut $25.8 million from the state’s education funding this summer.