School Starts Soon: The Numbers

The start of school is less than two weeks away for Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District students. 

As kids grab their backpacks and head to class Aug. 30, they'll join about 55.5 million students projected to be enrolled in the nation's elementary through high schools this fall, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

About 11 percent of those students will attend a private school.

With just days before the first day, back-to-school shopping is in full swing. About $7.4 billion was spent at family clothing stores nationwide last year in August, while about $2.2 billion was spent at book stores last year, according to the bureau.

Public school teachers in California were the highest earning in their field the last time the Census Bureau calculated in 2008, with a $65,800 average annual salary.

Bus drivers across the country in 2009 earned an average hourly wage of $16.44; custodians earned $14.59; and cafeteria workers made $11.94, according to the bureau.

By the end of the upcoming school year, about 3.2 million high school students are projected to earn diplomas and 3.4 million college students are projected to earn degrees nationwide. About 19.7 million students nationwide will attend a college or university this fall.

But get ready to pay up after high school.

The average tuition, room and board at the nation's four-year private colleges and universities for one academic year in 2009 was more than double the cost it was in 1990. It was $40,633, according to U.S. National Center for Education Statistics.