Public school districts are subsidizing housing for their teachers to combat the growing nationwide teacher shortage.

The United States faces a sizeable teacher shortage

Teacher vacancies have surged since 2017, with each year opening more positions than hires. Educators are quitting in record numbers, citing low pay and burnout. Today, there are 567,000 fewer education professionals than before the pandemic.

US teachers' earnings have declined since 2010

Although teachers are among the nation’s most educated workers, they earn far less on average than most other highly educated workers. More than 95% of elementary, middle and high school teachers have a bachelor’s degree or more. In 2019, the average earnings of elementary and middle school teachers with a bachelor’s degree or more who work full-time, year-round was $53,800. For high school teachers, it was $57,840.

15 states offer school voucher programs, serving nearly 350,000 students

Voucher programs direct public K–12 funding to families in the form of tuition grants for private schools and are typically targeted to low-income or special-needs students.

US school distrists have greatly consolidated since 1940

Consolidation significantly decreased the number of independent school districts from approximately 117,000 in 1940 to just over 13,000 today, mainly driven by efforts to boost efficiency and balance funding across communities.

Why Kansas is giving away cheap land

In Lincoln, Kansas, a housing renaissance is underway, driven by affordable real estate prices and a lower cost of living, in stark contrast to high-priced urban centers. Bradley Roberts, who previously lived in San Francisco, moved to Lincoln and...

Economists warn that private schools can negatively affect public schools

Lower public school enrollment often means less public school funding. Private school parents, however, frequently argue that public schools simply aren't offering the right education for their children. This podcast episode investigates that back-and-forth in San Francisco, where 30% of children attend private schools, nearly three times the national figure.

Part of the reason why American teachers aren't paid well has to do with gender

In the US, the wage gap between teachers and others with the same level of education and experience was nearly 20% as of 2021, per CNBC. That's partly because teaching was originally branded as a woman's profession.

Fewer middle-class students now attend private schools

Stanford professor Sean Reardon says there are two primary reasons behind this trend. The first is that many parochial schools, which tend to offer more affordable tuition, have closed. The second is that tuition for the remaining private schools has outpaced middle-class salaries.

Despite earning less than most tech workers, educators have one of the highest rates of homeownership

Annual income largely determines homeownership. In the US, 72% of people in management roles own a home, but educators, who on average earn much less than those working in business, have the second-highest rate of homeownership.

State governments have public pensions for their employees

In many US states, these pensions are set aside for teachers, firefighters, and/or other state government workers. However, many of these pensions are currently underfunded. This map provides a visual representation of how strong each US states’ public pensions are.

State and local governments fund very different services

Local governments allocate 39% of their spending to K-12 education, while states allocate less than 1% directly—although much of local education funding actually comes from state and federal grants to local communities. States instead allocate their budgets to public welfare and health programs (45%) and higher education (15%).

Catholic education has grown smaller in the 21st Century

Declining numbers of priests and nuns, who often worked in the schools for free, led schools to increase tuition, which inadvertently turned away the schools’ primary demographic: working-class immigrant families. At the same time, the sexual abuse scandals of the early 2000s left many others feeling like Catholic schools were dangerous.

Data center companies are worsening housing undersupply in some regional markets

With large capital to spend, technology giants have disrupted the real estate market, driving up prices by outbidding commercial and residential developers and intensifying competition for available land. A property purchased over several years for $50M in Prince William County, Virginia, was sold to Amazon for $700M in 2025.

US public K-12 spending topped $857B in 2024

Public K-12 schools spent around $857B in 2024, averaging $17,277 per student. State and local sources shouldered nearly 90% of costs, and federal funds provided about $2,400 per pupil.

Why can't we just turn the empty offices into apartments?

As both rent prices and mortgage rates rise across the US, many companies have simultaneously continued operating hybrid or remote workforces post-pandemic. A podcast episode dives into why city dwellers aren't all living in their prepandemic break rooms just yet.

One in seven US tax dollars is collected by local governments

Local governments collect about $886B each year to support education, infrastructure, and public health. Roughly three-quarters of this funding comes from property taxes, with the rest sourced from sales, excise, and income taxes.

Some California cities outsource their public services entirely to the county

Southern California's "contract cities" incorporate as municipalities but pay Los Angeles County for police, fire, and other services rather than running their own departments—a cost-saving model common across the region.

Zoning laws determine what can be built—and where—in every American community

Local governments use zoning to regulate land use. About 75% of residentially zoned land in American cities is designated for single-family homes only—a restriction that some experts blame for increasing housing costs and reducing affordability.

Special districts are a form of local government focused on a single purpose

Unlike cities or counties, which provide a wide range of services, special districts are created to perform a single function, such as water, transit, or mosquito control. They are governed by appointed boards, have independent taxing authority, and now number nearly 40,000 across the US.

Private K-12 schools rely on tuition; colleges rely on funding for research

Tuition, endowments, donors, and grants often fund private schools, allowing them to eschew national curriculum standards. Private colleges and universities also charge tuition, but often rely on federal funding for research.

Construction of small, affordable starter homes has decreased 75% since the 1970s.

One private school network prefers AI to teachers

Alpha School, a private school network that uses AI tutors and human "guides" rather than teachers, is expanding across the US. Its founder says that two hours a day with AI-powered software frees students to pursue their passions. Critics, including the Pennsylvania Department of Education, say the methods are untested.

Private schools are free to experiment with teaching styles

Because they’re not beholden to national curricula, private school teachers can use different pedagogical approaches, like Harkness, which was developed at New Hampshire’s Phillips Exeter Academy. The method brings students to a large round oval table and encourages them to lead the lesson through inquiry.

Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are not run by public school districts.

California has the highest median rent in the US at $2,104

Hawaii has the second-highest median rent in the US at roughly $1,942 per month, including utilities. That's as of 2024, based on data from the US Census Bureau.

Driver education was largely removed from public schools in the 1990s

Maintaining fleets of cars proved too expensive for many school districts, relegating driver education to private classes taken outside of school.

Local governments borrow money for long-term projects by issuing municipal bonds

When a city needs to build a school, a road, or a water treatment plant, it usually issues a municipal bond—borrowing money from investors to be paid back over time. The market for these bonds now exceeds $4T.

Burnout is often considered a disorder of caregivers, with teachers, doctors, nurses, and social workers reporting high levels of burnout.

Federal government supports—but doesn't run—K-12 schools

The Department of Education contributes about 8% of K-12 funding and administers targeted grants, civil‑rights enforcement, research, and data collection. Crucially, it is legally prohibited from directing curriculum, personnel decisions, or instructional content, leaving that control to states and districts.

Private school demographics in the US

Private school is a costly alternative to public school. As a result, there are numerous demographic differences between public and private school attendees, typically tied to income level. This source presents the latest statistics about private school attendance, as well as a searchable database to see the differences for schools near you.

Some parents who began homeschooling their children during the COVID-19 pandemic said the experience convinced them it was more beneficial than traditional school.

School choice allows families to use public funds for private education

Some private school advocates support school choice, a broad policy that provides families with public money (sometimes called “vouchers”) to spend on private education, including religiously affiliated schools.

The best US cities for entry-level jobs with livable wages

In Bakersfield, California, 100% of entry-level job ads on Indeed recently claimed to pay above the local living wage. But other cities, like Honolulu, Hawaii, aren't as livable for entry-level workers: Just 27.69% of new job posts advertise a salary in line with the city's living wage.

Cities bore the brunt of the migrant surge in the 2020s

During the 2022-24 migration surge, cities such as New York, Chicago, and Denver faced shelter overcrowding, strained public services, and housing shortages—while the upfront costs fell almost entirely to states and cities.

Homeschooling expanded significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 11% of families homeschooling.

In 2021, Colorado became the first state in the US to require companies to publicly disclose salary ranges on job postings.

In 2021, Colorado became the first state in the US to require public disclosures of salary ranges. Flash forward a few years, and other places in America would get salary transparency laws, too, like Washington state, New York City, and California. But the salary transparency movement might have a downside: Some researchers believe it could hurt wage growth for workers over time. Watch this video to learn more.

Many 'cheap' retirement destinations contain hidden costs

Considering factors outside of housing and state income tax is crucial when thinking of an inexpensive place to retire. High energy bills, grocery tax, and insurance premiums are just a few things to look out for when picking where to live.

In recent years, many private schools have seen enrollment increase

The pandemic realigned schools’ demographics, with steady enrollment increases reported since 2020. In school years 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 20225, 40% of private schools saw enrollments increase, though the overall trend appears to be slowing.