October 3, 2019 9:15AM # Poll: 58% of Americans Favor Vouchers for K–12 Private School By [Emily Ekins](https://www.cato.org/people/emily-ekins) --- SHARE The [Cato 2019 Welfare, Work, and Wealth National Survey](https://www.cato.org/publications/survey-reports/what-americans-think-about-poverty-wealth-work) finds a solid majority (58%) of Americans favor a proposal that would allow parents to use a “voucher to enroll their children in a private school” with “government helping to pay the tuition” while 40% oppose. ![Majority of Americans favor school vouchers](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/images/wealth-work-survey/ekins-wealth-work-survey-87.jpg?itok=OIEn-ba0) *[Full survey results and report found here.](https://www.cato.org/publications/survey-reports/what-americans-think-about-poverty-wealth-work)* African Americans, lower-income Americans, high school graduates, and Republicans are most likely to favor letting parents use vouchers to send their kids to private school. More than two-thirds (69%) of African Americans support school vouchers, compared to 56% of White and Latino Americans. Nearly three-fourths (73%) of people with annual incomes below $20,000 and 64% of high school graduates support school vouchers. But support drops among those with incomes above $20,000 and college graduates to 55% and 52%, respectively. Nevertheless, slim majorities continue to favor the proposal. Republicans (68%) and independents (61%) are more supportive of school vouchers than are Democrats (47%). Instead, 50% of Democrats oppose such a proposal. ![Republicans, Black Americans, lower income and high school grads most supportive of vouchers](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/images/wealth-work-survey/ekins-wealth-work-survey-88.jpg?itok=fy_vW2O_) ![Moderate Democrats support, liberal Democrats oppose school vouchers](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/images/wealth-work-survey/ekins-wealth-work-survey-89.jpg?itok=Ee4ZDfN3) School vouchers divide Democrats. A strong majority (61%) of liberal Democrats oppose school vouchers while a solid majority (60%) of moderate Democrats favor them. **55% of Americans Would Prefer to Send Their Kids to Private School; 59% of Democrats Prefer Public School** About 90% of children in elementary and secondary schools attend public schools.[\[1\]](#_ftn1)But a majority (55%) of Americans would rather send their kids to a private school. This may help explain why a majority of Americans support vouchers for private school. Majorities of Latino (57%), White (54%), and Black (51%) Americans prefer that their kids receive an education through a private school. But, young Americans stand out with their preference for public education. A slim majority (52%) of those under 30 prefer public to private school. However, Americans over 30, including those 30–44 (51%), 45–54 (56%), and over 55 (61%), would prefer private school. ![Democrats prefer public school; independents and Republicans prefer private school](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/images/wealth-work-survey/ekins-wealth-work-survey-86.jpg?itok=3dWbOawz) There are striking partisan differences. More than two-thirds of Republicans (68%) and a majority (59%) of independents would rather send their kids to private school. However, a solid majority (59%) of Democrats prefer public school for their kids. This share rises to 65% among strong liberals. **25% of Americans Rate Their Local Public School as “Bad”** One reason why many Americans may prefer private schools is that they believe their local schools are of low or mediocre quality. A quarter (25%) of Americans currently rate the educational quality of schools in their neighborhoods as “somewhat” or “very bad.” Another 47% rate their local schools as “somewhat good,” and 27% say their schools are “very good.” Notably, lower income families are more likely to rate their local schools poorly. For instance, 37% of low-income respondents currently receiving welfare benefits rate their local schools as “bad.” **61% of Americans Support Tax Credits for Those Who Donate Toward Private School Scholarships** It is more expensive for a parent to send their children to a private school than a locally assigned public school. However, 61% of Americans favor a proposal to offer a tax credit to people or businesses “who donate to scholarships to help parents send their children to private school if they choose.” Another 37% oppose this proposal. The proposal enjoys wide demographic and post-partisan support. Majorities of Black (62%), Latino (65%), and White (60%) Americans, as well as Democrats (52%), independents (66%), and Republicans (69%) all favor tax credits for donations to private school scholarships. The issue, however, divides moderate and liberal Democrats. Two-thirds (67%) of moderate Democrats support the tax credit proposal while 56% of liberal Democrats oppose. **65% of Americans Support Offering Higher Salaries to Math and Science Teachers** Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Americans support offering higher salaries to math and science school teachers and 34% oppose. This proposal also enjoys post-partisan support: 71% of Democrats, 63% of independents, and 59% of Republicans favor raising salaries for math and science teachers. ***Read more of the survey report [here](https://www.cato.org/publications/survey-reports/what-americans-think-about-poverty-wealth-work).*** [![Cato 2019 Welfare, Work, and Wealth National Survey](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2019-09/Cover%20for%20web.jpg?itok=PmSlo42A)](https://www.cato.org/publications/survey-reports/what-americans-think-about-poverty-wealth-work) *The Cato Institute 2019 Welfare, Work, and Wealth Survey was designed and conducted by the Cato Institute in collaboration with YouGov. YouGov collected responses online March 5 to 8, 2019 from a representative national sample of 1,700 Americans 18 years of age and older. The margin of error for the survey is +/- 2.2 percentage points at the 95% level of confidence.* [*Sign up here to receive forthcoming Cato Institute*](https://www.cato.org/project-public-opinion)[ *survey reports*](https://www.cato.org/project-public-opinion)*.* --- [\[1\]](//D9D12287-4B43-4281-9D52-B055D621A4BC#_ftnref1)“Table 105.20: Enrollment in Elementary, Secondary, and Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions, by Level and Control of Institution, Enrollment Level, and Attendance Status and Sex of Student: Selected Years, Fall 1990 through Fall 2027,” Digest of Education Statistics, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, [https://​nces​.ed​.gov/​p​r​o​g​r​a​m​s​/​d​i​g​e​s​t​/​d​1​7​/​t​a​b​l​e​s​/​d​t​1​7​\_​1​0​5​.​2​0​.​a​s​p​?​c​u​rrent=…](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d17/tables/dt17_105.20.asp?current=yes). ##### Related Tags [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Social Welfare and Poverty](https://www.cato.org/social-welfare-poverty), [Center for Representative Government](https://www.cato.org/center-representative-government), [Public Opinion](https://www.cato.org/public-opinion), [Education](https://www.cato.org/education) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).