Pennsylvania schools collected more than $17.86 billion in property taxes in the last fiscal year, the biggest increase in collections in nearly a decade, according to state fiscal analysts.
That total includes the amount paid by property owners, delinquent taxes and gambling revenues allocated to lighten the tax burden on homeowners across the commonwealth.
Property tax collections for fiscal 2024-2025 topped the previous year by $725 million, a jump of about 4.2% and the biggest hike since 2007-2008, according to a May report released by the state’s Independent Fiscal Office. These proceeds are projected to go up by another $600 million in the following year.
Local taxes paid by property owners account for more than 40% of the revenues captured by school districts, which also depend on state and federal funding sources, the state analysts said.
Though these tax revenues have climbed in recent years, they’re dependent on local property values, meaning that districts in low-wealth areas have historically dealt with a funding disadvantage.
The Commonwealth Court several years ago deemed the state’s education funding system unconstitutional because of these disparities, and the state has since been working to offset the imbalance by supplying extra money to impacted districts.
Other numbers of note from the IFO analysis:
- $800 million — the amount of gaming funding that went toward lowering homeowners’ school district property tax bills in the most recent fiscal year. That number has been climbing steadily as gambling booms in the commonwealth, and the state has already estimated that it will jump to $1 billion next year.
- 53.7% — how much federal aid to Pennsylvania schools has dropped since its COVID-era peak. The 2025-2026 federal support is estimated at $1.3 billion, or about $1.5 billion less than it was four years ago.
- $277 million — how much local tax revenues for Philadelphia schools have spiked over the last several years, since the city began a lengthy effort to reassess property values. The city’s reassessment process is a significant contributor to the overall statewide increase in funding for local schools, according to the fiscal analysts.
