MAIN Education Back To School

Back to School Fun Facts!

• What's the average amount spent by parents for back to school clothes every year?
  
  
• How many kids are earning and learning with part-time jobs after school?
  
  
• Where do you find the highest paid teachers in the USA?

Check out the latest fun facts and figures from the U.S. Census celebrating the return to school ...

Back-to-School Shopping

$7.2 billion The amount of money spent at kids clothing stores in August 2009. Only October, November and December -- the holiday shopping season -- were sales greater than $5 billion. Similarly, bookstore sales in August 2009 totaled $2.5 billion, an amount not surpassed by any month except January.

Students

76 million The number of U.S. residents enrolled in schools -- from nursery schools to colleges.

56 million The number of students projected to be enrolled in the nation's elementary and high schools (grades K-12) this fall. That number exceeds the total in 1969 (51.6 million) when the last of the "baby boom" children expanded school enrollments.

1.1 million Number of students who are home-schooled, or 2 percent of all school-age students ages 5 to 17.

10.9 million The number of school-age children (5 to 17) who speak a language other than English at home. They make up nearly 1-in-5 children in this age group. Most of these children (7.1 million) speak Spanish at home.

19.1 million The projected number of students enrolled in the nation’s colleges and universities this fall. This is up from 12.4 million a quarter-century ago.

Teachers

7.2 million The number of practicing teachers in the United States -- from pre-kindergarten to college.

$63,640 Average annual salary paid to public school teachers in California - the highest of any state in the nation. Teachers in South Dakota received the lowest -- $35,378. The national average was $50,758.

Technology in the Schools

14.2 million Number of computers available for classroom use in the nation's 114,700 elementary and secondary schools; that comes down to 1 computer for every 4 students.

100 Percentage of public schools with Internet access. In 1995, the proportion was 50 percent.

The Rising Cost of College

$14,915 Average tuition, room and board (for in-state students) at the nation's four-year public colleges and universities for an entire academic year, more than double the amount from 1990.

$40,640 Average tuition, room and board at the nation's four-year private colleges and universities for an entire academic year, more than double the amount from 1990.

The Rewards of Staying in School

$83,144 Average annual earnings of workers age 18 and older with an advanced degree. This compares with $58,613 a year for those with bachelor’s degrees, $31,283 for those with a high school diploma only and $21,023 for those without a high school diploma.

$75,621 Average starting salary offer to bachelor's degree candidates in petroleum engineering, among the highest of any field of study. At the other end of the spectrum were those majoring in the social science; they were offered an average of $39,476.

Source: U.S Census Bureau

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