US Educational Services Sector

The 118,000 educational services establishments in the US provide instruction and training across a wide variety of subjects. The sector consists of formal educational services providers (elementary and secondary schools, colleges, universities) and specialized education services providers (technical and trade schools, tutoring services).

Demographic Challenges

The decreasing birth rate and smaller families have led to a gradual decrease in the number of children in the US, a factor that affects school enrollment and revenue from government sources.

Dependence on Government Funding

Public K-12 schools and universities are highly dependent on public funding.

Sep 10, 2026 - Some Families’ Interest In Their Kids’ Education may Be Decreasing

• Almost every country, including the US, recorded a decrease compared to 2022 in families’ support for their kids’ education, according to a survey of students who took the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test. The decrease in interest was most pronounced for boys, as measured by questions about how often parents talk to their kids about their schoolwork or take an interest in their learning. "Parents see themselves more as a client of the school, not as someone who takes personal interest," said Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which runs the PISA test. Students who said that a family member asks them at least weekly what they did in school that day scored around 35 points higher on the PISA science test — equivalent to over a year and a half of learning — compared with students whose families take less interest. That number includes adjustments for socioeconomic differences.
• The US Department of Education unveiled in July an extensive regulatory agenda that includes a proposed rule on accreditation that would make it easier for new accrediting bodies to form and for colleges to change accreditors. The rule would also expand accreditor duties to include oversight of campus policies related to free speech and intellectual diversity. The department also expects to amend regulations to "streamline the process" for cutting off federal financial aid to colleges that it determines violated civil rights laws and refused to voluntarily come into compliance.
• The US saw a 9% decrease in the number of ransomware attacks on its educational institutions in 2025, according to Comparitech. The increase in ransomware attacks on the education sector worldwide slowed in 2025, with the number of incidents targeting schools, universities, and other educational institutions increasing 2%, compared to the year prior. The US had the highest number of education-related ransomware attacks in 2025 with 130. Ransomware attacks across all sectors in the world increased 32% in 2025.
• Educational services sector employment continued rebounding during 2023 and exceeded pre-pandemic levels by mid-2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Educational services sector sales are forecast to increase at a 3.66% compounded annual rate from 2026 to 2030, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.

Industry size & Structure

The educational services sector is comprised of 118,000 establishments that employ 4 million workers and generate $101 billion in annual revenue, according to government sources.

• The educational services sector represents 1% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs 2.9% of the country's workers.
• The sector is fragmented with the 20 largest firms representing 15.2% of revenue.
• In addition to employer establishments, the educational services sector has 895,000 owner-operated establishments with no employees. The owners of nonemployer firms typically perform the work and may outsource support functions like marketing and accounting.
• The education services sector is forecast to grow its employment base by 5.8% overall in 2021-2031, which is comparable to the national average of 5.3% for all jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.