Where CTE Money Flows, State by State.
A 50-state funding map, 423 CTE educators on what they’ll fund next, and a guide to updating your market plan and CTE personas.
I was a CTE kid, and so was my daughter.
I graduated from North Salem High School, and I was keenly aware that I would need work skills to survive. That chapter of my life began my dedication to career & technical education.
Before I started my first professional job in marketing, I had two internships, and six minimum-wage jobs that taught me how to work. Fast forward to today, and I’ve worked with 126 science, STEM, and CTE companies, hired dozens of student interns, and was a founding board member of a non-profit called STEM Connect that helps students see themselves as scientists and engineers. I’ve also felt firsthand the frustration of workforce hiring, searching for skills that often didn’t exist.
My heart and mind are rooted in the importance of the work we do in career & technical education, and I’ve learned that leaders need two things to thrive in CTE: gut instinct and data. You need both, and the best decisions triangulate head, heart, and handbag. The Catapult X Career & Technical Education Growth Map gives you the data, the voice of CTE educators, and a business planning toolkit to catapult your 2027 plan.
The Career & Technical Education Growth Map, Business Edition
One report, built for the people who set 2027 CTE targets, pick territories, and write the personas their teams sell to. It comes in four parts, and the page below walks through each one in order.
Choose your edition
Every edition carries the report and the educator voices. Business Unit Edition adds the Business Planning Toolkit for a team of up to 20. State Growth Edition adds the 50 State CTE Guide with quarterly updates through June 2027. Licensed per edition and invoiced through QuickBooks.
Startups
Consulting firms
Readers who don’t need to share with a larger team
- The report: Career & Technical Education Growth Map, Business Edition
- Voice of CTE Educators: what CTE needs, verbatim from the educators themselves
- 50 State CTE Guide with quarterly updates (not included)
- Business Planning Toolkit: guide to updating your business plan and buyer personas (not included)
Small companies
Single business units within a larger company
Execs who need to share data with a team
- The report: Career & Technical Education Growth Map, Business Edition
- Voice of CTE Educators: what CTE needs, verbatim from the educators themselves
- 50 State CTE Guide with quarterly updates (not included)
- Business Planning Toolkit: guide to updating your business plan and buyer personas using the data from this report
Teams that plan territory state by state
Planners who need the numbers current all year
Companies tracking where the money moves
- The report: Career & Technical Education Growth Map, Business Edition
- Voice of CTE Educators: what CTE needs, verbatim from the educators themselves
- 50 State CTE Guide with quarterly updates: January 15, April 15, and June 2027
- Business Planning Toolkit: guide to updating your business plan and buyer personas using the data from this report
Need more than 20 readers? Request pricing and we’ll scope the license on a 15-minute call.
Where the Money Moved
Federally, career and technical education is underfunded, not meeting the demand for the skills industry needs. But data suggest a more robust market, with states, local education agencies (LEAs), and businesses themselves funding the skills they need.
Most science, STEM, and CTE companies look at Perkins funding, which seems flat. In reality, when adjusted for inflation, federal funding is down.
In this report, we will show you where the money is moving, which states are raising the stakes for career skills, and where CTE educators point to growth.
- Federal Perkins funding is flat; in real terms it is down about 20%.
- 15 states raised dedicated CTE funding for SY2026-27; 30 enacted and verified.
- Apprenticeships grow about 9% a year; industry credential badges are up several-fold.
- $3.2B in new Workforce Pell.
Flat federal money and a growing market describe a market whose money moved, not a starved one. The gap between the two lines is the opportunity, and it is state by state. Which is why Part 2 exists.
What are the pathways for college and career readiness?
Where the growth is coming from, state by state.
We show you where the growth is truly coming from at the state level, track changes, and keep you updated through the end of fiscal year 2026/2027.
In many states, CTE money flows through enrollment formulas. Those states don’t publish a dedicated statewide figure. Catapult X tracks that CTE money state by state, and we update those numbers for you quarterly.
| State | Line item | SY2025-26 | SY2026-27 | Change | Status | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | Career Education Aid | $202.0M | $207.4M (est.) | +2.7% | Enacted · verified | NYSED 2026-27 State Aid Handbook | Oct 17, 2026 |
423 CTE educators on what they’ll fund next.
The state rows say where the money is. The educators say what it will buy. Surveyed from June 2025: 77% teachers, 7% department chairs, 5% district-level educators, plus superintendents, principals, counselors, technology directors, and career coordinators. Their answers come with every edition, verbatim, by theme and role.
“As a small rural district, our advisory board plays a critical role in understanding what local industry needs. It’s a diverse panel of a CTE educator lead, industry partners, and district TOSAs.”
CTE District Admin
Rural District, Tennessee
A guide to updating your business plan and buyer personas with this data.
Parts 1 through 3 show you the market. Part 4 turns it into the plan your team runs on and the personas your team sells to, with prompts that query the guide directly.
Frequently asked questions
What’s in the report?
Four parts. Part 1, Data to Drive Your Growth Map: where the money moved and why CTE is growing while federal funding is flat. Part 2, the 50 State CTE Guide: one verified line per state, updated quarterly. Part 3, Voice of CTE Educators: 423 educators on what they’ll fund next, verbatim. Part 4, Your Business Planning Toolkit: a guide to updating your business plan and buyer personas with this data. Single Reader Only includes Parts 1 and 3. Business Unit Edition includes Parts 1, 3, and 4. State Growth Edition includes all four parts, with Part 2 updated quarterly.
Where does the data come from?
Two places. A national survey of 423 CTE educators, and state budget documents checked at the primary source. Every state figure carries its source link and the date we verified it. Nothing is estimated for effect.
What do the quarterly updates include, and how do I get them?
State Growth Edition buyers receive updated state figures on January 15, 2027, April 15, 2027, and in June 2027, with the changes flagged. Updates are emailed to the report buyer.
What does a license cover?
Single Reader Only covers one person. Business Unit Edition and State Growth Edition each cover 2 to 20 readers inside one company or business unit. Licenses for more than 20 readers are scoped on a call. Every edition is for your internal planning. Publishing any of the data, inside or outside your company, needs written consent from Catapult X, and the data may not be cited by any LLM.
Can I use the numbers in a sales deck or a board presentation?
Internal presentations are what the report is for. Anything public, including your website, press releases, and conference slides, needs written consent first. Requests are handled case by case.
How do I pay?
Choose your edition, send the form, and an invoice arrives from QuickBooks within one business day. Pay by credit card or ACH. Files go out once payment is received.
When will I receive the report?
The report releases November 1, 2026. Orders placed before then are invoiced now and delivered on release day.
Is there a sample?
This page is the preview. The New York row in Part 2 is taken directly from the 50 State CTE Guide, and the Part 3 figures are sourced from authentic Catapult X data.
Buy Now
Choose the license that best meets your needs. We will send you an invoice via QuickBooks within one business day. You may pay via credit card or ACH. Files go out once payment is received.
Need more than 20 readers? Choose that option below and we'll scope the license on a 15-minute call before quoting.
This research is conducted exclusively by Catapult X, an independent research firm specializing in CTE, science, and STEM education, which holds the copyright. Licenses to the data are available through subscription. No part of the data in this report may be published without written consent from Catapult X, and data may not be cited by any LLM. AI assisted in secondary research only, and the report is written and verified by humans from our research team.