Arkansas · NCES F-33 finance data

Highest Spending Districts in Arkansas

The 50 Arkansas districts that spend the most per student, ranked from NCES F-33 finance data (2022-23). Only districts enrolling 500 or more students are included.

$20,742
Top per-pupil spend
$15,118
Avg across top 50
50
Districts listed

The spending picture in one line

Lee County School District spends $20,742 per student, the most of any Arkansas district listed, against an average of $15,118 across the top 50.

$20,742
top spend (Lee County School District)
$13,408
lowest on this list
1.5×
spread across the listed districts
631
students in the top district
#DistrictPer-Pupil $
1Lee County School DistrictMarianna$20,742
2Osceola School DistrictOsceola$18,389
3Pine Bluff School DistrictPine Bluff$17,959
4Cedar Ridge School DistrictNewark$17,231
5Lafayette County School DistrictLewisville$17,107
6Friendship Aspire Academy Pine BluffPine Bluff$16,817
7Fordyce School DistrictFordyce$16,770
8Dumas School DistrictDumas$16,612
9Lakeside School District (Chicot County)Lake Village$16,395
10Cossatot River School DistrictWickes$16,377
11Kipp Delta Public SchoolsHelena$16,176
12Little Rock School DistrictLittle Rock$15,959
13West Side School DistrictGreers Ferry$15,557
14Texarkana School DistrictTexarkana$15,529
15South Side School DistrictBee Branch$15,446
16Rivercrest School District #57Wilson$15,429
17Eureka Springs School DistrictEureka Springs$15,415
18Arkansas Lighthouse AcademiesLittle Rock$15,386
19Midland School DistrictPleasant Plains$15,372
20Warren School DistrictWarren$15,238
21Mountain Pine School DistrictMountain Pine$15,075
22Jasper School DistrictJasper$15,016
23Ozark Mountain School DistrictSt Joe$14,995
24Cedarville School DistrictCedarville$14,782
25Hot Springs School DistrictHot Springs$14,750
26Watson Chapel School DistrictPine Bluff$14,737
27Helena/ W.Helena School Dist.Helena$14,610
28Exalt Academy of Southwest Little RockLittle Rock$14,605
29Blytheville School DistrictBlytheville$14,526
30Searcy County School DistrictMarshall$14,455
31Gurdon School DistrictGurdon$14,426
32Forrest City School DistrictForrest City$14,410
33Harrisburg School DistrictHarrisburg$14,379
34England School DistrictEngland$14,270
35Fountain Lake School DistrictHot Springs$14,258
36Centerpoint School DistrictAmity$14,239
37Hope School DistrictHope$14,216
38Izard Co. Cons. School Dist.Brockwell$14,037
39Pulaski Co. Spec. School Dist.Little Rock$13,934
40Flippin School DistrictFlippin$13,884
41Camden Fairview School Dist.Camden$13,812
42Malvern School DistrictMalvern$13,806
43Lincoln School DistrictLincoln$13,694
44Cutter-Morning Star Sch. Dist.Hot Springs$13,667
45Hampton School DistrictHampton$13,659
46Horatio School DistrictHoratio$13,638
47Two Rivers School DistrictOla$13,635
48Mountain View School DistrictMountain View$13,562
49Mammoth Spring School DistrictMammoth Spring$13,492
50Bald Knob School DistrictBald Knob$13,408

Methodology

Per-pupil expenditure data comes from the NCES F-33 Finance Survey. Only districts with 500 or more students are included to ensure meaningful comparisons. Spending figures include all current operational expenditures divided by total enrollment.

Per-pupil spending figures come from the National Center for Education Statistics F-33 School District Finance Survey for fiscal year 2022-23, the federal government's annual census of revenues and expenditures across more than 13,000 public school districts. Only districts enrolling 500 or more students are ranked, to keep small-district outliers from distorting the comparison.