$19,398 per pupil: Maryland school districts’ current expenses in fiscal 2024–25, district by district

Current expenses per pupil in 24 Maryland school districts, fiscal 2024–25: median $19,398, range $17,207 to $25,462. Every figure from MSDE public records, with what the figure includes and leaves out.

Half of the 24 Maryland school districts that run both elementary and high school grades recorded current expenses of more than $19,398 per pupil for fiscal 2024–25, and half recorded less. That middle figure, the median, comes from the Selected Financial Data report published by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). It is the most recent year DistrictFacts publishes for the state.

The lowest figure among those districts is $17,207 per pupil, at Washington County Public Schools (22,594 students enrolled, 2025–26). The highest is $25,462, at Baltimore City Public Schools (76,340 students enrolled, 2025–26), about 1.5 times the lowest. The middle half of districts fall between $18,669 and $21,414.

Cost per pupil, fiscal 2024–25: the 5 lowest and the 5 highest of 24 Maryland districts

Washington County Public Schools
$17,207
Queen Anne's County Public Schools
$17,244
Frederick County Public Schools
$18,021
Cecil County Public Schools
$18,153
Wicomico County Public Schools
$18,346
Somerset County Public Schools
$22,412
Worcester County Public Schools
$22,454
Dorchester County Public Schools
$22,655
Kent County Public Schools
$24,697
Baltimore City Public Schools
$25,462

10 of 24 districts shown: the 5 lowest and the 5 highest. Bars start at zero and the line marks the median of all 24, $19,398. Each bar links to the district’s page.

Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), Selected Financial Data report, fiscal 2024–25

The largest district

Montgomery County Public Schools is the largest Maryland system reporting this figure, with 156,050 students enrolled (2025–26). Its figure is $21,387 per pupil for fiscal 2024–25, 10% above the $19,398 median of the 24 districts compared here. The DistrictFacts homepage shows the same comparison.

What “cost per pupil” means in Maryland

In Maryland the figure is MSDE’s “cost per pupil, current expenses”: a school system’s current (operating) expenses divided by the number of pupils belonging (the pupils on the school system’s rolls), prekindergarten through grade 12, as MSDE computes it. It covers current expenses only. MSDE’s report lists school construction, debt service (repayment of borrowed money) and food service as separate funds.

Each state defines this figure differently: what spending is counted, and which count of students it is divided by. The Maryland figure should not be set beside another state’s, and DistrictFacts does not rank states on it.

Which districts are counted

DistrictFacts publishes pages for 25 Maryland districts and other local education agencies. 24 of them report this figure for fiscal 2024–25. The median and the range above cover 24: regular school districts whose schools span both elementary and high school grades. None of the reporting districts is left out.

The remaining 1 has no published figure for the year. A missing or withheld figure is not counted as zero; it is left out of the median.

What this does not tell you

A per-pupil figure does not show whether money was spent well, and it is not a measure of school quality. Districts differ in the students they serve, the services they must provide and their size. In a district with few students, a small change in spending or in the pupil count moves the figure a long way. This is one year of data and it says nothing about the trend. A useful question to ask a district is what is included in its figure and how it has changed over time; each district page linked here shows the detail and the source file.

This report was generated from public records by the DistrictFacts Data Desk. Every figure in it is read from the Selected Financial Data report of the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), as published on the district pages; none was typed by hand. The method is described on the DistrictFacts methodology page, and a correction can be requested from this story.

Sources

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