Iowa · NCES F-33 finance data

Highest Spending Districts in Iowa

The 50 Iowa 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.

$17,121
Top per-pupil spend
$14,413
Avg across top 50
50
Districts listed

The spending picture in one line

Grinnell-Newburg Comm School District spends $17,121 per student, the most of any Iowa district listed, against an average of $14,413 across the top 50.

$17,121
top spend (Grinnell-Newburg Comm School District)
$13,690
lowest on this list
1.3×
spread across the listed districts
1,573
students in the top district
#DistrictPer-Pupil $
1Grinnell-Newburg Comm School DistrictGrinnell$17,121
2North Cedar Comm School DistrictStanwood$16,697
3Midland Comm School DistrictWyoming$16,234
4Saydel Comm School DistrictDes Moines$15,826
5Des Moines Independent Comm School DistrictDes Moines$15,286
6Washington Comm School DistrictWashington$15,239
7Eldora-New Providence Comm School DistrictEldora$15,117
8Council Bluffs Comm School DistrictCouncil Bluffs$15,071
9Southeast Webster Grand Comm School DistrictBurnside$15,011
10Prairie Valley Comm School DistrictGowrie$14,863
11Mason City Comm School DistrictMason City$14,852
12Pekin Comm School DistrictPackwood$14,832
13Maple Valley-Anthon Oto Comm School DistrictMapleton$14,655
14Burlington Comm School DistrictBurlington$14,619
15Fairfield Comm School DistrictFairfield$14,534
16Waterloo Comm School DistrictWaterloo$14,490
17Cedar Rapids Comm School DistrictCedar Rapids$14,365
18Charles City Comm School DistrictCharles City$14,332
19Wapello Comm School DistrictWapello$14,323
20Bcluw Comm School DistrictConrad$14,322
21Iowa City Comm School DistrictIowa City$14,290
22North Butler Comm School DistrictAllison$14,266
23Postville Comm School DistrictPostville$14,210
24Woodbury Central Comm School DistrictMoville$14,196
25Akron Westfield Comm School DistrictAkron$14,145
26Newton Comm School DistrictNewton$14,130
27Van Buren County Comm School DistrictKeosauqua$14,130
28Belmond-Klemme Comm School DistrictBelmond$14,075
29West Central Valley Comm School DistrictStuart$14,052
30Ikm-Manning Comm School DistrictManning$14,038
31Sioux Central Comm School DistrictSioux Rapids$14,034
32Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Comm School DistrictBrooklyn$14,005
33Maquoketa Comm School DistrictMaquoketa$13,996
34Davenport Comm School DistrictDavenport$13,995
35Howard-Winneshiek Comm School DistrictCresco$13,925
36West Des Moines Comm School DistrictWest Des Moines$13,914
37Pocahontas Area Comm School DistrictPocahontas$13,907
38Shenandoah Comm School DistrictShenandoah$13,867
39Panorama Comm School DistrictPanora$13,861
40Davis County Comm School DistrictBloomfield$13,851
41Agwsr Comm School DistrictAckley$13,848
42West Sioux Comm School DistrictHawarden$13,842
43Eddyville-Blakesburg- Fremont CsdEddyville$13,838
44Clinton Comm School DistrictClinton$13,837
45Dubuque Comm School DistrictDubuque$13,808
46Estherville Lincoln Central Com Sch DistEstherville$13,786
47Columbus Comm School DistrictColumbus Junction$13,780
48Perry Comm School DistrictPerry$13,778
49Mount Ayr Comm School DistrictMount Ayr$13,747
50Sibley-Ocheyedan Comm School DistrictSibley$13,690

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.