Back to School by the Numbers
From the U.S.
Census Bureau
by U.S. Census Bureau
Back-to-School Shopping
$7.5
billion
The amount of money spent at family clothing stores in
August 2007. Only in November and December—the holiday shopping
season—were sales significantly higher. Similarly, sales at bookstores
in August 2007 totaled $2.3 billion, an amount approached in 2007 only by
sales in January and December.
For back-to-school shopping, choices
of retail establishments abound: In 2005, there were 24,659 family clothing
stores, 6,305 children and infants clothing stores, 26,416 shoe stores,
9,501 office supply and stationery stores, 23,195 sporting goods stores,
11,077 bookstores and 9,589 department stores.
Students
75.2 million
The number of children and adults
enrolled in school throughout the country in October 2006—from nursery
school to college.
Pre-K through 12
56%
Percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in
school in October 2006.
72%
Percentage of
children 3 to 6 enrolled in kindergarten who attended all day, as of October
2006.
56 million
The projected number of
students to be enrolled in the nation’s elementary through high
schools (grades K-12) this fall.
17,000
Number
of students 30 and older enrolled in elementary school, as of October
2006.
11%
Projected percentage of elementary
through high school students enrolled in private schools this fall.
41%
Percentage of elementary through high school
students who were minorities, as of October 2006.
23%
Percentage of elementary through high school
students who have at least one foreign-born parent in October 2006. Five
percent were foreign-born themselves.
33%
Percentage of children 6 to 11 who participated
in lessons as of 2004. Lessons include those taken after school or on the
weekend in subjects such as music, dance, language, computers or religion.
The corresponding percentage a decade earlier was 24 percent.
26%
Percentage of children 6 to 11 who had ever
attended or been enrolled in first grade or higher and had changed schools
at some point as of 2004, down from 30 percent a decade earlier. For
children 12 to 17, the corresponding rate declined from 52 percent to 42
percent over the period.
7%
The percentage of
children 6 to 11 who had ever repeated a grade as of 2004, unchanged from a
decade earlier. For children 12 to 17, the rate declined from 16 percent to
11 percent over the period.
Languages
10.9
million
Number of school-age children (5 to 17) who speak a
language other than English at home; 7.8 million of these children speak
Spanish at home.
Lunchtime
30.5
million
Average number of children participating each month in
the national school lunch program in 2007.
9.3
billion
The nation’s total apple production, in pounds,
in 2007, down from 9.9 billion in 2006. The chances are good that the apples
your children present to their teachers or enjoy for lunch were grown in
Washington state, which accounted for more than half of the nation’s
total production.
College
18.4
million
The projected number of students enrolled in the
nation’s colleges and universities this fall. This is up from 13.5
million 20 years ago.
37%
Percentage of all
college students 25 and older in October 2006; 55 percent of these older
students attended school part time.
69%
Percentage of undergraduates enrolled in
four-year colleges in October 2006. Of those enrolled in such schools, 80
percent attended full time.
46%
Percentage of
18- and 19-year-olds enrolled in college in 2006.
56%
Percentage of undergraduates who were women in
October 2006.
8.6 million
Number of people who
hold bachelor’s degrees in business. Twenty-five percent of
bachelor’s degrees were in this field.
5.6
years
Average amount of time it takes people to complete
bachelor’s degrees. It took 4.4 years to complete an associate’s
degree.
How Many Schools?
97,382
Number of public schools in 2005-06. The
corresponding number of private schools was 28,996 in 2005-06.
4,276
Number of institutions of higher learning
that granted college degrees in 2005.
3,690
The
number of public charter schools nationwide in 2005-06. These schools,
exempt from selected state and local rules and regulations, enrolled 1
million students.
Teachers and Other School Personnel
7.1 million
Number of teachers in the United States
in 2007. Some 2.9 million teach at the elementary and middle school level.
The remainder includes those teaching at the postsecondary, secondary, and
preschool and kindergarten levels.
$59,825
Average annual salary of public school
teachers in California as of the 2005-2006 school year—the highest of
any state. Teachers in South Dakota received the lowest pay—$34,709.
The national average was $49,026. High school principals earned $92,965
annually in 2006-07.
$15.48
Average hourly wage
for the nation’s school bus drivers in 2006-07. Custodians earned
$13.78, while cafeteria workers made $11.16.
Technology
14.2 million
Number of computers available for
classroom use in the nation’s schools as of the 2005-2006 school year.
That works out to one computer for every four students.
The Rising
Cost of College
$14,203
Average tuition, room
and board (for in-state students) at the nation’s four-year public
colleges and universities for an entire academic year (2006-07). That is
more than double the corresponding figure in 1990.
$38,400
Average tuition, room and board at the
nation’s four-year private colleges and universities for one academic
year (2006-07). That also is more than double the corresponding 1990
figure.
The Rewards of Staying in School
$82,320
Average annual 2006 earnings of workers 18
and older with an advanced degree. This compares with $20,873 for those
without a high school diploma. In addition, those with a bachelor’s
degree earned an average of $56,788 in 2006, while those with a high school
diploma earned $31,071.
$59,408
Average
starting salary offered to bachelor’s degree candidates in petroleum
engineering in 2007, among the highest of any field of study. At the other
end of the spectrum were those majoring in the humanities, who were offered
an average of $31,345.
$5,992
Average monthly
earnings for full-time workers 18 and older with earnings who had a
bachelor’s degree in
engineering.
$3,431
Average monthly earnings for
full-time workers 18 and older with earnings who had a bachelor’s
degree in education.
Graduation
3.3
million
Projected number of high school diplomas that will be
awarded in the 2008-09 school year.
3.1
million
Number of college degrees expected to be conferred in
the 2008-09 school year.
Government Spending on Education
$9,138
The per-pupil expenditure on public
elementary and secondary education nationally in 2006. New York ($14,884)
spent the most among states or state equivalents, followed by New Jersey
($14,630) and the District of Columbia ($13,446). Utah ($5,437) spent the
least per student, followed by Idaho ($6,440) and Arizona ($6,472).
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
