Newsroom Archive

Back to School: 2012-2013

By August, summertime will be winding down and vacations will be coming to an end, signaling that back-to-school time is near. It's a time that many children eagerly anticipate — catching up with old friends and making new ones, and settling into a new daily routine. Parents and children alike scan the newspapers and websites looking for sales to shop for a multitude of school supplies and the latest clothing fads and essentials. This edition of Facts for Features highlights the many statistics associated with the return to classrooms by our nation's students and teachers.

Back-to-School Shopping

$7.7 billion

The amount of money spent at family clothing stores in August 2011. Only in November and December were sales higher. Similarly, sales at book stores in August 2011 totaled $2.4 billion, the strongest sales month of the year.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Monthly Retail Trade and Food Services <https://www.census.gov/mrts/www/mrts.html>

For back-to-school shopping, choices of retail establishments abound: In 2009, there were 28,520 family clothing stores, 7,092 children and infants clothing stores, 26,651 shoe stores, 8,945 office supply and stationery stores, 21,628 sporting goods stores, 9,390 bookstores and 8,663 department stores.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2009 <https://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/index.html>

Students

79 million

The number of children and adults enrolled in school throughout the country in October 2010 & from nursery school to college. They comprised 27 percent of the entire population age 3 and older.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, School Enrollment - Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2010, Table 1 <https://www.census.gov/hhes/school/data/cps/2010/tables.html>

Pre-K through 12 Enrollment

72%

Percentage of children 3 to 6 enrolled in kindergarten who attended all day, as of October 2010.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, School Enrollment - Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2010, Table 3 <https://www.census.gov/hhes/school/data/cps/2010/tables.html>

24%

Percentage of elementary through high school students who had at least one foreign-born parent in October 2010.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, School Enrollment - Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2010, Table 1 <https://www.census.gov/hhes/school/data/cps/2010/tables.html>

27%

Percentage of students ages 12 to 17 who were in a gifted class in 2009.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, A Child's Day: 2009 (Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being), Table D18 <https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/children/cb09-182.html>

70%

Percentage of 6- to 17-year-olds who were highly engaged in school (children reported as liking school, being interested in school and working hard in school) in 2009.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, A Child's Day: 2009 (Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being); Table D27 <https://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/children/data/sipp/well2009/tables.html>

Languages

11.8 million

Number of school-age children (5 to 17) who spoke a language other than English at home in 2010; 8.5 million of these children spoke Spanish at home.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_1YR/B16004>

Colleges

16%

Percentage of all college students 35 and older in October 2010. They made up 34 percent of those attending school part time.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, School Enrollment - Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2010, Table 5
<https://www.census.gov/hhes/school/data/cps/2010/tables.html>

41%

Percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college in 2010.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, School Enrollment - Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2010, Table 1
<https://www.census.gov/hhes/school/data/cps/2010/tables.html>

56%

Percent of college students who were women in 2010 (includes both undergraduate and graduate students).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, School Enrollment - Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2010, Table 1
<https://www.census.gov/hhes/school/data/cps/2010/tables.html>

Rewards of Staying in School

$74,000

Median earnings of full-time, year-round workers with an advanced degree in 2009. Workers whose highest degree was a bachelor's had median earnings of $56,000. Median earnings for full-time, year-round workers with a high school diploma was $33,000, while workers with less than high school diploma had $25,000 median earnings.
Source: Educational Attainment in the United States: 2009 <https://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p20-566.pdf>