• State tax appropriations for all higher education, both public and independent, rose almost every year from 1965 to 1990 (Indicator IV-07a). Then, after a short period of decline, appropriations began rising again. By 2002, states were spending a record $94.1 billion (in 2015 dollars) on postsecondary education.1
• From a spending peak in 2002, state spending dropped 10% by 2004. Spending increased again through 2008 but then fell 18% over the next five years. By 2013, state spending had fallen to a level last seen in the 1980s (slightly over $76 billion). Over the next two years, state investment ticked upward, with higher education funding reaching $81.8 billion in 2015.
• While the Indicator IV-07a tracks state government expenditures for all higher education, both public and independent, Indicator IV-07b (see “Appropriations Map”) compares states by their state and local government spending—and for public higher education only.2 The data, analyzed and presented by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), reveals substantial differences among states in monetary commitment to public higher education. The average investment by states and their localities in public colleges and universities per full-time enrollment (FTE) was $6,996 in 2015; however, government investment ranged from $2,591 per FTE in New Hampshire to more than six times that amount ($17,300) in Wyoming.3 California, whose public institutions of higher learning together have the highest number of FTEs in the nation (1.5 million), spent the most on higher education ($13.4 billion).
• In all but a handful of states, appropriations for public higher education (including appropriations by local governments) were lower in 2015 than in 2008 (Indicator IV-07c). In 20 states, appropriations fell 20% or more. Louisiana and Alabama had the steepest declines, 38% and 41%. The median change among states was a 19% decline. Nationally, state/local investment in public higher education was 15% lower in 2015 than just before the recession.

Endnotes

• 1For years 1965 to 1999, the amounts given are for higher education tax appropriations only, although several states fund higher education with other monies, such as cattle-grazing fees and lottery revenues. The amounts given for years 2000 to 2015 include these additional funds.
• 2The totals for 2000–2015 exclude special-purpose, research, and medical appropriations.
• 3See the “Data Adjustments” tab of the visualization for information as to how the data were adjusted to facilitate meaningful interstate comparisons.