Data for Discussion | August 13, 2026

Back-to-school season returns. So do the costs.

By Rachel Massaro

As Silicon Valley families prepare for the new school year, they're facing some of the highest back-to-school costs in the country. Nationally, parents expect to spend an average of $885 per child on purchases in advance of the new school year, including clothing, technology, books, school supplies, and equipment or fees associated with after-school activities. School supplies alone are expected to cost about $118 per student nationally—an increase of approximately 8% from last year.

This comes at a time when 47% of Bay Area parents/guardians say they cannot consistently afford to pay their monthly expenses and put money aside, and 65% say they have cut back on groceries or other necessities over the past five years in order to make ends meet.

While more than a dozen states offer back-to-school sales tax holidays on qualifying purchases, California is not among them. If California were to offer a comparable sales tax holiday,¹ Silicon Valley families with K-12 students could save between $30 and more than $40 per student (or as much as $14.5 million collectively),² depending on the items covered, price caps, and whether mandatory local sales taxes were included. However, tax experts note that sales tax holidays can create administrative complexity for retailers, encourage consumers to shift purchases into a narrow timeframe, and disproportionately benefit higher-income households that can spend more on qualifying purchases. As a result, lower-income families — particularly those unable to concentrate their purchases during the tax holiday or afford higher-cost items — may realize comparatively smaller savings.

Although California state law requires schools to provide all instructional materials to students, those requirements do not extend to many of the supplies teachers request through optional parent donations, nor do they cover expenses such as clothing or participation in after-school activities.

Locally, organizations such as Sacred Heart Community Service's Pack-a-Back program and The Giving Tree's Back-to-School Drive help provide school supplies and other assistance to families preparing for the new school year. Individuals wishing to support these efforts may also be eligible for federal tax benefits: donations are generally tax-deductible for taxpayers who itemize, and beginning in tax year 2026, taxpayers who do not itemize may deduct up to $1,000 in qualifying cash charitable contributions ($2,000 for married couples filing jointly).

To learn more about the financial challenges facing Silicon Valley families, explore the Silicon Valley Poll, the Institute’s various income-adequacy indicators, and data on disparities in education outcomes for socioeconomically disadvantaged Silicon Valley students.

References:

1. Using U.S. average expected spending on clothing & shoes ($275), school supplies including backpacks and lunchboxes ($118), and technology including tablets, laptops, and calculators ($102). ↩
2. Based on the California Department of Finance P-2A Total Population for California and Counties (2020-2080) estimate for the number of children ages 5 through 17 in Santa Clara & San Mateo counties. ↩

About the Author

Rachel Massaro is vice president of Joint Venture and director of research at the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies. Their work aims to bridge the gap between academia, council chambers, the boardroom, and the dinner table.