The average tuition charged at Oklahoma’s private schools is substantially less, on average, than the per-pupil funding provided to the state’s public schools, based on data in a recent analysis.

According to Private School Review, the average private school tuition in Oklahoma is $8,092 per year for the 2024-2025 school year. The review found that Oklahoma private elementary schools’ average tuition cost is $8,264 annually while the private high school average is $9,403 per year.

The survey included 25 private high schools and 42 private elementary schools.

The average private-school tuition of $8,092 per child is 40 percent lower than the per-pupil funding provided to Oklahoma’s public schools.

According to Oklahoma State Department of Education data from the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System, public school district expenditures in 2023 (the most recent available) totaled $9,538,453,992, and enrollment in the 2022-2023 school year totaled 701,066 students. That means Oklahoma public schools had an average of $13,605 per student that year.

Twenty of the 25 Oklahoma private high schools included in Private School Review’s survey had reported average tuition lower than the state’s per-pupil funding for public schools, as did 37 of the 42 private elementary schools.

Lara Schuler, Senior Director of Catholic Education for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, said it is not surprising that many private schools operate on tuition rates that are lower than public schools’ per-pupil funding.

“Catholic Schools have traditionally accomplished a great deal with limited budgets comparatively to other systems or schools,” Schuler said. “Our schools provide a solid faith and academic core as well as many enhancement courses, and sports as well. This is due to the mission-minded pastors, administrators, and teachers who are committed to giving students the best they can give and families who understand the value of educating for human flourishing.”

Oklahoma public schools’ per-pupil funding of $13,605 is also greater than the national average private school tuition of $13,159 per year, according to Private School Review, as well as the average private school tuition rate in 36 other states.

Private School Review is not the only entity to find that Oklahoma private schools charge average tuition rates that are much lower than the per-pupil funding provided to public schools in the state.

According to the Education Data Initiative, Oklahoma private schools charge average tuition of $7,432.

The difference between Private School Review and Education Data Initiative’s estimates are likely based on the specific schools surveyed and the time period covered by the survey.

In 2023, Oklahoma lawmakers passed the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Act, which provides refundable tax credits of $5,000 to $7,500 per child to help Oklahoma families cover the cost of private school tuition. The lower a family’s income, the larger the tax credit, and all families qualify.

The current maximum credit of $7,500, while significantly less than the per-pupil taxpayer funding in Oklahoma’s public schools, nonetheless helps families cover all or most of the cost of tuition at most Oklahoma private schools.