Music education data
A sourced reference page on music education access, participation, school funding, and California arts education data. Last updated July 6, 2026.
93%
The November 2024 School Pulse Panel survey found broad access to at least one standalone arts class, with regional access ranging from 91% in the West to 98% in the Northeast.
Source: National Endowment for the Arts and NCES School Pulse Panel, November 2024
68%-93%
In the same November 2024 survey, music classes were reported by 68% of schools with fewer than 300 students and 93% of schools with 1,000 or more students.
Source: National Endowment for the Arts and NCES School Pulse Panel, November 2024
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.
$1.045 billion
California Department of Education says the Arts and Music in Schools program is funded at 1% of the prior-year K-12 portion of the Proposition 98 guarantee, excluding AMS funding.
$124.26
CDE also lists an FY 2025-26 FRPM grant amount of $84.13 for the Arts and Music in Schools funding calculation.
June 19, 2026
The CDE funding results page lists 2025-26 Proposition 28 Arts and Music in Schools P-2 certification with school-site calculation and funding exhibit files.
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 funding page, 2026
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 National Endowment for the Arts, 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 July 6, 2026. https://amabilemusic.org/music-education-statistics
For the most precise citation, link directly to a statistic anchor such as #school-arts-access, #music-access, or #california-prop-28.
Amabile offers private lessons, Little Mozart classes, recitals, and online or in-person instruction for Bay Area families.
