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Fun Education Facts
The US Census Looks at Education

Most Americans think of "The Census" as the population count every 10 years. In between the nationwide decennial counts, the census takers keep busy with counting lots of other things...

This statistical data has many uses in government planning and is the basis for economic regulations, but it also makes for some interesting and entertaining trivia.

Here are the United States Census Bureau's education numbers. Some may surprise you...

Teachers

6.3 million
The number of teachers in the United States -- from prekindergarten to college -- as of 2000.

$52,200
Average salary paid to public school teachers in New Jersey for the 1999-2000 school year -- highest of any state in the nation. Teachers in South Dakota received the lowest average salary -- $29,100. The national average was $41,700.

Technology in the Schools

12.2 million
Number of computers available for use in the classrooms of the nation's 111,000 elementary and secondary schools during the 2000-2001 school year; that came out to one computer for every four students.

98
Percentage of public schools with Internet access in the fall of 2000. As recently as 1995, the proportion was only 50 percent. For every teaching computer connected to the Internet in 2000, there were seven students.

4-in-5
The ratio of children between ages 6 and 17 who actually used a computer at school in 2000, compared with 2-in-3 who had access to one at home. Schools give computer access to many children who do not have one at home.

The Rising Cost of College

$8,912
Average amount charged for tuition, room and board (for in-state students) at the nation's four-year public colleges and universities for the 1999-2000 school year, up more than 60 percent from 10 years earlier.

$26,532
Average amount charged for tuition, room and board at the nation's four-year private colleges and universities for the 1999-2000 school year, up more than 70 percent from 10 years earlier.

Students

76.6 million
Number of U.S. residents enrolled in school -- from nursery school to college -- on Census Day, April 1, 2000. Students comprised a ratio of more than 1-in-4 residents.

52
Percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in school in October 2000, up from 21 percent in 1970.

6-in-10
The ratio of children enrolled in all-day kindergarten in October 2000, up from 1-in-10 in 1970.

49 million
The number of students enrolled in elementary and high school in October 2000, which matched the previous record set in 1970 when "baby boom" children expanded school enrollments.

In October 2000, 20 percent of elementary and high school students had at least one foreign-born parent.

26
Percentage of high school students ages 15 to 17 who were holding down a job in October 2000.

6 million
Number of students 25 and over enrolled in college in October 2000. These older students accounted for 37 percent of all college students.

10 million
Number of traditional college-age students (those under 25) in October 2000.

56
Percentage of college students in October 2000 who were women. Women, thus, continued the majority status they have occupied since 1979.

According to Census 2000, 29 percent of Rhode Island residents enrolled in school were college or graduate students -- the highest such rate for any state in the nation. (The District of Columbia, a state equivalent, had a rate of 38 percent.)

The Rewards of Staying in School

$4.4 million
Estimated lifetime earnings of professional degree holders (medical, law, dentistry and veterinary medicine) in 1999 dollars. This compares with $3.4 million for those with doctoral degrees, $2.5 million for master's degree-holders, $2.1 million for those with a bachelor's, $1.2 million for high school graduates and $1.0 million for high school dropouts.

$50,367
Average starting salary offer in 2000 to bachelor's degree candidates in petroleum engineering, among the highest of any field of study. At the other end of the continuum were those majoring in the social sciences (excluding economics), who were offered an average of $30,933.

Graduation

80
Percentage of the nation's adults 25 and over with at least a high school diploma at the time of Census 2000. The corresponding rate in the 1990 census was 75 percent.

24
Percentage of the nation's adults 25 and over who said they had at least a bachelor's degree at the time of Census 2000. The 1990 census showed the corresponding rate to be 20 percent.

88
Percentage of adults in Alaska, Minnesota, Utah and Wyoming age 25 and over who were high school graduates at the time of Census 2000, highest among all states.

33
Percentage of adults 25 and over in Massachusetts and Colorado with bachelor's degrees or higher, according to Census 2000. These were the highest rates in the nation. Additionally, Massachusetts led all states in graduate or professional degrees, with 14 percent. (The District of Columbia, a state equivalent, had even higher rates: 39 percent and 21 percent, respectively.)

Government Spending on Education

$10,283
The per-pupil expenditure for elementary and secondary education in 2000 in nation-leading New Jersey. New York, at $10,039, also topped the $10,000-per-pupil mark.

State governments contributed the greatest share of public elementary and secondary school funding in 2000: $186 billion. They were followed by local governments at $161 billion and the federal government, $27 billion.

Public school systems spent $380.4 billion in 2000, up $25.8 billion from 1999. About $198 billion was spent on instruction, $109 billion on services that support instruction, $45 billion on capital outlay and $28 billion on other noninstructional expenditures.

School districts invested $32 billion in school construction in 2000, up 12 percent from 1999.

Back-to-School Shopping

5.1 billion
The amount of money spent at family clothing stores in August 2001. Only November and December, when many people do their holiday shopping, showed higher totals in 2001. Similarly, bookstore sales in August 2001 totaled $2.0 billion, an amount not equaled by any month except December.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
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