Music education data
A sourced reference page on music education access, participation, school funding, and California arts education data. Last updated June 6, 2026.
92%
The Arts Education Data Project defines access as attending a school where a music program is present.
Source: Arts Education Data Project, National Arts Education Status Report metrics, 2018-19
48%
Participation is based on unique students taking one or more music courses in the reporting states, with national reporting from the 2018-19 school year.
Source: Arts Education Data Project, National Arts Education Status Report metrics, 2018-19
3,609,698
The same report projected that those students were enrolled across 8,486 public schools without music access.
Source: Arts Education Data Project, National Arts Education Status Report metrics, 2018-19
18 million
The 2018-19 status report drew on school-reported data from 30,633 schools in 7,015 districts across 17 states, representing 36% of the U.S. K-12 student population.
94%
NCES reported the same national figure for the 1999-2000 and 2009-10 school years.
93%
Among public elementary schools that offered music in 2009-10, NCES also found that 93% offered the subject throughout the entire school year.
91%
NCES reported that arts specialists were used in most schools offering music instruction, underscoring the role of trained teachers.
91%
NCES reported that 91% of public secondary schools offered music in 2008-09, compared with 90% in 1999-2000.
$938,042,000
California Department of Education says the Arts and Music in Schools program supplements arts education and allocates 70% by statewide enrollment share and 30% by economically disadvantaged pupil enrollment share.
annual
Required reports include the types of arts programs funded, staffing paid for by the program, pupils served, and school sites providing arts education with those funds.
Source: California Department of Education, Proposition 28 Arts and Music in Schools FAQs, updated 2025
2018-19
Create CA notes that the dashboard does not include grades PK-5 because California elementary schools are not required to report arts education data.
$187
The California Arts Council research page reports average annual costs of $195 per elementary student, $189 per middle school student, and $143 per high school student in the district studied.
Source: California Arts Council, Money for Music Education district analysis
Methodology
This fact sheet uses public reports from education and arts organizations, including the Arts Education Data Project, the National Center for Education Statistics, the California Department of Education, Create CA, and the California Arts Council. We include source names and dates for every statistic and avoid unsupported claims.
Some sources use older school-year data because national arts education reporting is not updated every year. When a statistic is based on a narrow study, such as one district analysis, the card labels it that way.
Cite this page
Amabile School of Music. "Music Education Statistics For Families And Writers." Last updated June 6, 2026. https://amabilemusic.org/music-education-statistics
For the most precise citation, link directly to a statistic anchor such as #music-access, #no-music-access, or #california-prop-28.
Amabile offers private lessons, Little Mozart classes, recitals, and online or in-person instruction for Bay Area families.
