New Jersey

Data Visualizations

ELC maintains an extensive database of education indicators for the state of New Jersey. Spanning twenty years, the database incorporates statistics on significant education topics, including school funding, student demographics, student performance, the teaching workforce, and community context. Click on the links below for access to interactive, longitudinal data.

• Student Demographics: statewide, district, and school-level data on racial/ethnic composition, free/reduced price lunch eligibility, and English learners.
• School Funding Data: state and district summaries of funding relative to the NJ’s school finance formula; need-adjusted, per pupil funding comparisons by district.
• Preschool Data: enrollment data for former Abbott and non-Abbott districts. 

Reports

ELC produces numerous reports and policy briefs based on information in the database. Interactive reports are available below. Additional reports are available on the Publications page.

• Abbott Preschool at 25: Declining Enrollment Puts a Landmark Program at Risk
  • February 12, 2025: This report uncovers concerning trends in Abbott Preschool enrollment and stresses the importance of sustained state commitment to ensure quality and access.
• A Roadmap for Improving New Jersey’s School Funding Formula series:
  • Modifying the Property Tax Cap
    • October 7, 2024: New Jersey’s property tax cap, a law aimed at minimizing annual increases in residents’ property tax bills, is a major obstacle to achieving adequate local funding in hundreds of districts across the state.
  • The Impact of Census-Based Funding for Special Education
    • April 30, 2024: The census model for funding special education does not appropriately fund districts for their actual special education needs and results in the inequitable distribution of state resources for students with disabilities.
  • The FY2026 Educational Adequacy Report 
    • March 26, 2024: This report provides a framework for how New Jersey can adequately review the state’s longstanding school funding formula as required by law. 
• The Color of Opportunity: How Formula Underfunding Disproportionately Impacts New Jersey’s Black and Latino Students
  • March 2, 2022: Black and Latino students in New Jersey are far more likely to attend schools that are spending well below the level set as adequate in the state’s school funding formula, while white and Asian students typically attend districts spending at or above the adequate funding level.
• Spending Targets Under the School Funding Reform Act
  • October 5, 2021: This report demonstrates why comparisons of school district spending must take into account demographic differences in student composition rather than relying on simplistic comparisons of per pupil spending levels.