By Carla Astudillo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
If you believe that children are indeed our future, it won't be a cheap one.
Newly released Census data shows public spending per pupil increased by 3.2 percent to $11,762 in 2016. And that's due, at least in part, to school systems doing better in terms of finances overall.
In 2016, public elementary-secondary education revenue, from all sources, amounted to $670.9 billion, up 4.6 percent from the prior year. That's the largest increase since 2007.
And that's likely the result of an improving economy overall in the wake of the Great Recession.
See how much each state spends on its students below:
A note about the data: Includes the amount spent per pupil by the elementary-secondary public school system in that state which encompasses regular, special and/or vocational programs for children in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Only charter schools whose charters are held by government entities are included. The data is for fiscal year 2016 which began on July 1, 2015, and ended on June 30, 2016, for all states with the exception of Alabama, Washington D.C., Nebraska, Texas and Washington state. Fiscal year 2016 for Alabama and Washington D.C. was from Oct. 1, 2015, until Sept. 30, 2016. For Nebraska, Texas and Washington state, it was from Sept. 1, 2015, through Aug. 31, 2016.
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50. Utah
Per-pupil spending: $6,953
49. Idaho
Per-pupil spending: $7,157
48. Arizona
Per-pupil spending: $7,613
47. Oklahoma
Per-pupil spending: $8,097
46. Mississippi
Per-pupil spending: $8,702
45. North Carolina
Per-pupil spending: $8,792
44. Tennessee
Per-pupil spending: $8,810
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43. Florida
Per-pupil spending: $8,920
42. Nevada
Per-pupil spending: $8,960
41. Texas
Per-pupil spending: $9,016
40. South Dakota
Per-pupil spending: $9,176
39. Alabama
Per-pupil spending: $9,236
38. Colorado
Per-pupil spending: $9,575
37. New Mexico
Per-pupil spending: $9,693
36. Georgia
Per-pupil spending: $9,769
35. Arkansas
Per-pupil spending: $9,846
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34. Indiana
Per-pupil spending: $9,856
33. Kentucky
Per-pupil spending: $9,863
32. Kansas
Per-pupil spending: $9,960
31. South Carolina
Per-pupil spending: $10,249
30. Missouri
Per-pupil spending: $10,313
29. Oregon
Per-pupil spending: $10,842
28. Louisiana
Per-pupil spending: $11,038
27. Iowa
Per-pupil spending: $11,150
26. West Virginia
Per-pupil spending: $11,291
25. Montana
Per-pupil spending: $11,348
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24. Virginia
Per-pupil spending: $11,432
23. Wisconsin
Per-pupil spending: $11,456
22. California
Per-pupil spending: $11,495
21. Washington
Per-pupil spending: $11,534
20. Michigan
Per-pupil spending: $11,668
19. Ohio
Per-pupil spending: $12,102
18. Nebraska
Per-pupil spending: $12,299
17. Minnesota
Per-pupil spending: $12,382
16. Maine
Per-pupil spending: $13,278
15. North Dakota
Per-pupil spending: $13,373
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14. Hawaii
Per-pupil spending: $13,748
13. Illinois
Per-pupil spending: $14,180
12. Maryland
Per-pupil spending: $14,206
11. Delaware
Per-pupil spending: $14,713
10. New Hampshire
Per-pupil spending: $15,340
9. Pennsylvania
Per-pupil spending: $15,418
8. Rhode Island
Per-pupil spending: $15,532
7. Massachusetts
Per-pupil spending: $15,593
6. Wyoming
Per-pupil spending: $16,442
5. Alaska
Per-pupil spending: $17,510
4. Vermont
Per-pupil spending: $17,873
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media
3. New Jersey
Per-pupil spending: $18,402
2. Connecticut
Per-pupil spending: $18,958
1. New York
Per-pupil spending: $22,366
Express-Times file photo
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