Guides
How Much Should a Private School Spend on Marketing?
Set a private school marketing budget from the seats you need to fill, not from a percentage of tuition. The best public data is from NAIS: 54% of responding independent schools have annual marketing budgets above $70,000, and 28% have budgets above $120,000. Those figures leave out salaries and paid media, so the full cost of marketing is higher than the number in the budget line. This guide shows the NAIS bands, what they leave out, and five steps to set your own number.
How much do private schools spend on marketing?
The 2024-2025 NAIS survey asked independent schools for their marketing budget "excluding salaries and media (advertising)." Budgets vary widely, and they rise with school size: more than half of schools with 700 or more students are above $120,000. By level, 9% of elementary schools and 43% of secondary schools are above that line.
Share of responding independent schools by annual marketing budget, excluding salaries and paid media, 2024.
Source: NAIS Research, 2024-2025 State of Independent School Marketing.
View the data
| Annual marketing budget, excluding salaries and paid media | Share of responding independent schools |
|---|---|
| Less than $20,001 | 10% |
| $20,001 to $45,000 | 13% |
| $45,001 to $70,000 | 16% |
| $70,001 to $95,000 | 15% |
| $95,001 to $120,000 | 11% |
| More than $120,000 | 28% |
| Don't know | 8% |
Method line: NAIS Research, 2024-2025 State of Independent School Marketing, published February 27, 2025. 344 respondents at NAIS member schools, surveyed August 14 to 30, 2024. Independent schools only. Percentages are as published and sum to 101% because of rounding.
What do those budgets leave out?
Two large costs: salaries and paid media. A school that reads "$70,000" as its total cost of marketing is undercounting.
NAIS asked about paid media separately. Half of responding schools put $25,000 or less into paid advertising, and 11% put more than $80,000.
| Annual paid media budget | Share of responding independent schools |
|---|---|
| Less than $10,001 | 25% |
| $10,001 to $25,000 | 25% |
| $25,001 to $45,000 | 20% |
| $45,001 to $80,000 | 20% |
| More than $80,000 | 11% |
Method line: Same NAIS survey. 337 schools answered the paid media question. Independent schools only.
Staff is the other piece. NAIS found that 30% of responding schools have one person in charge of marketing, 68% have between 1 and 2.5 full-time-equivalent marketing staff, and the typical school has three or fewer full-time staff with marketing responsibilities. Add the cost of those people to the budget and the media, and you have the full figure.
What does it cost to enroll one student?
The most cited private school figure is a different measure. The 2022 NAIS, EMA, and NBOA cost per enrollment study found a median cost per enrollment of $3,677 at the independent schools that took part. It was $2,869 at elementary schools and $5,844 at secondary schools. The same study reported a median return of $7 in first-year tuition for each dollar spent to enroll a new student.
These figures count more than ad spend, and the study does not publish its full method outside the members-only report. Do not compare them with Taylor Wiz's charter benchmark of $113 per submitted application in ad spend. They measure different things at different schools.
Method line: NAIS, EMA, and NBOA, 2022 Independent School Cost-Per-Enrollment Study, published September 15, 2022. Independent schools only.
What does Taylor Wiz data say about private school budgets?
Nothing yet. All 20 accounts behind our published benchmark are charter schools: across them, a submitted application cost $113 in Meta ad spend over the full year, October 2025 to September 2026, and $103 from October through July. We will publish a private school figure when we have enough private school accounts to report it honestly. See the Charter Enrollment Marketing Benchmark, and for how the two school types differ, Charter vs Private School Marketing.
How do you set a private school marketing budget?
Start with seats, not last year's spend or a percentage. We did not find a primary source for a percent-of-tuition or percent-of-operating-budget rule for private school marketing, so this guide does not use one.
- Count the seats you need to fill. Open seats for next year, by grade, after re-enrollment.
- Set the most you would pay to enroll one student. Use your own first-year tuition, net of financial aid, and decide what share you will put into finding that family. This is your ceiling per enrolled student.
- Multiply. Seats to fill times the ceiling per enrolled student is your total enrollment marketing budget, before you split it up.
- Split it across the pieces. Paid ads, your website and application path, events and tours, creative, and the person or team who follows up on every inquiry. Do not leave out salaries.
- Check it monthly. Divide ad spend by submitted applications. See Cost Per Enrolled Student for the method, and How to Market a Private School for the seven steps the budget pays for.
Should you build it in-house or hire an agency?
NAIS found that 44% of responding schools work with an external marketing agency for digital marketing for enrollment management, 26% have a full internal digital marketing capability, 25% are just beginning in-house, and 5% do no digital marketing for enrollment. If your team is one or two people, compare the real costs of both. See In-House vs Agency Enrollment Marketing and Private School Marketing Agency.
Method line: NAIS Research, 2024-2025 State of Independent School Marketing. 285 schools answered this question.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a private school spend on marketing?
There is no single standard. NAIS found that 54% of responding independent schools have annual marketing budgets above $70,000 and 28% above $120,000, excluding salaries and paid media. Set yours from the seats you need to fill and what you can pay to enroll one student.
What percent of a private school's budget should go to marketing?
We did not find a primary source for a percentage. NAIS reports marketing budgets in dollar bands, and its cost per enrollment study reports a median of $3,677 per enrollment. Use seats and cost per enrolled student instead.
How much does it cost a private school to enroll one student?
The 2022 NAIS, EMA, and NBOA study found a median cost per enrollment of $3,677 at independent schools, $2,869 at elementary schools and $5,844 at secondary schools. It counts more than ad spend.
Do private schools use marketing agencies?
NAIS found that 44% of responding independent schools work with an external marketing agency for digital marketing for enrollment management.
Does Taylor Wiz work with private schools?
Yes. All four services are offered to private and faith-based schools. Our published benchmark is for charter schools because all 20 accounts behind it are charter schools.
How much does Taylor Wiz cost?
Pricing is scoped to each school on a strategy call, based on your enrollment goals and your market.
Find out what a seat actually costs you
Bring your current enrollment numbers and ad spend. We will map your funnel from inquiry to submitted application and show you where families are lost.
Written by Will Rodriguez, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Sources to watch: NAIS State of Independent School Marketing (next edition), NAIS cost per enrollment study (next edition), Taylor Wiz benchmark (after each data pull, and when private school data exists).
- Published
- Last updated
Sources
- NAIS Research, 2024-2025 State of Independent School Marketing, February 27, 2025 (full report, pp. 4, 7, 9, 16, 17, 41, 45)
- NAIS, EMA, and NBOA, 2022 Independent School Cost-Per-Enrollment Study, September 15, 2022
- Taylor Wiz Charter Enrollment Marketing Benchmark 2026, 20 charter school accounts, October 2025 to September 2026.