Back-to-school season is already upon us.
As millions of parents and guardians across the country prep their children for a new year of learning, few know how much is spent on school supplies.
Few also know how many students and teachers attend public and private institutions — and other key facts associated with this time of year.
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Here are 10 back-to-school facts that shed light on how many children (and adults) are enrolled in academies throughout our nation.
$111B – Back-to-school spending for grades K-12 will reach $37 billion in 2022, according to estimates from the National Retail Federation (NRF).
College students, on the other hand, might spend a total of $74 billion.
$864 and $1,199 – American families will spend $864 on average for back-to-school items and $1,199 on average for back-to-college items, the NRF estimates.
Electronics are said to be the top spending category for both groups.
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128,961 – The U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that the country had 98,469 public schools and 30,492 private schools from 2019 to 2020.
The agency hasn’t released more up-to-date data at this time.
54.1M – In the fall of 2020, there were 49.4 million public school students, the NCES says. About 34.1 million of those students were spread out through pre-K and 8th grade, while about 15.3 million were spread out through 9th to 12th grade.
Approximately 4.7 million students in the U.S. attended private schools in the U.S.
1.6M – In terms of homeschooling, the NCES reports that there were approximately 1.69 million homeschooled students in the U.S. when it last checked in 2016.
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73M – When factoring in college students and adult learners, the estimated total of enrolled students from fall 2020 goes up to 73 million, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Back-to-School report, which sourced information from its 2020 county business pattern survey, population survey and school system finances survey.
3.7M – The NCES estimates the U.S. had 3.7 million teachers working in schools during the 2019-2020 school year.
About 3.2 million of those teachers worked in public schools, while about 500,000 worked in private schools.
180 – While school calendars vary by state, city and neighborhood, on average American students spend 180 days at school in a given year, the NCES reports.
Schools in the U.S. typically start in late August or early September.
6.64 – The NCES also found that the average American school day lasts for 6.64 hours.
Texas has the longest school day average, with a typical day lasting 7.17 hours.
$32K, $39K and $73K – The U.S. Census Bureau’s "Fun Facts: Back-to-School" report says "education paid off" for adult workers in 2020, with annual salaries having risen with each education level.
American adults without a high school diploma and an education below 9th grade made nearly $32,000 per year, while high school graduates and GED recipients made about $39,000.
College graduates with bachelor’s degrees made about $73,000.
