Quick Education Facts from the U.S. Census Bureau
Teachers
6.5 million: From preschool to University, in 2005, there are 6.5 million teachers in the U.S.
$56,300: Average salary of public school teachers in California as of the 2002-2003 school year — the highest of any state in the nation. Teachers in South Dakota had the lowest average salary— $32,400. The national average was $45,900.
Technology in the Schools
14.1 million: Number of computers available for classroom use in the nation's 114,000 elementary and secondary schools — that works out to one computer for every four students. br>
79.2%: Percentage of public schools with high speed Internet access for 2003-2004.
The Rising Cost of a College Education
$10,660: Average tuition, room and board (for in-state students) at the nation's four-year public colleges and universities for an entire academic year — that is double the corresponding figure in 1990.
$31,051: Average tuition, room and board at the nation's four-year private colleges and universities for one complete academic year — that is more than double the corresponding 1990 figure.
Students
74.9 million: The number of people enrolled in school throughout the country — from nursery school to college. That amounts to more than one-fourth of the U.S. population age 3 and older. p>
Preschool
60%: Proportion of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in school in October 2000, up from 21 percent in 1970.
Kindergarten
59%: Percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in nursery school, up from about 6 percent in 1964, when these data were first collected.
Elementary and High School
54.6 million: The number of students enrolled in the nation's elementary and high schools (grades K-12) in the fall of 2004. That number exceeds the 1970 total of 51.3 million, when virtually all of these students were "baby boomers," who swelled school enrollments.
22%: Percentage of elementary and high school students in 2004 with at least one foreign-born parent. This includes 6 percent who were foreign-born themselves.
The Rewards of Staying in School
$51,206: Annual average earnings in 2004 of adults age 18 and over with a bachelor's degree. This compares with an annual average of $27,915 for those with only a high school diploma.
Government Spending on Education
$8,019: The per-pupil expenditure on elementary and secondary education nationally in 2003. The District of Columbia ($13,328) spent the most among states or state-equivalents, followed by New Jersey ($12,202), New York ($12,140), Connecticut ($10,372) and Vermont ($10,322).
Languages
9.9 million: Number of school-age children (5 to 17) who speak a language other than English at home. These children make up nearly 1-in-5 in this age group. Most of them (7.0 million) speak Spanish at home.
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