ESA program statistics (October 2026)
Award amounts, enrollment, and payment rails for every US Education Savings Account program — the provider-side numbers, with sources.
Updated . Figures come from official program sources linked below; verify before relying on them.
17
active state ESA programs paying private vendors
9
active universal or near-universal programs
$1B
Texas TEFA appropriation recorded from the official launch source (verify current Texas program documents)
3
recurring administration/payment platforms in the current state records: ClassWallet, Odyssey and Step Up
17 active ESA programs (plus closed records), side by side
| State | Program | Award | Enrollment | Rail | Universal? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) | $2,000 homeschool · ~$10,474 private school · up to $30,000 disability | 118,000+ students with active TEFA awards, including 109,000+ funded participants (official TEFA update, August 28, 2026) | Odyssey | Yes | official |
| Arizona | Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) | ~$7,000–$32,000/student (varies by student need) | over 100,000 students (101,845 enrolled as of May 11, 2026, per ADE) | ClassWallet | Yes | official |
| Florida | Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES) | $7,463–$12,217/student by county and grade; Unique Abilities $9,627–$39,091 (2026-27) | more than 500,000 students across six Step Up scholarship programs, including 140,147 on FES-UA and 76,274 on PEP (Step Up 2025-26 Fast Facts) | Step Up For Students | Yes | official |
| Iowa | Students First Education Savings Accounts (ESA) | $8,148/student (2026-27) | 41,044 participants using a Students First ESA at an accredited nonpublic school (Oct. 1, 2025 certified enrollment; Iowa Department of Education, Dec. 19, 2025) | Odyssey | Yes | official |
| Utah | Utah Fits All Scholarship (UFA) | $8,000 private school; $4,000–$6,000 home-based by age (2026-27) | near-universal eligibility | Odyssey | Yes | official |
| Arkansas | Education Freedom Accounts (EFA) | $7,208/student (2026-27, paid quarterly) | universal for all K-12 Arkansas students from the 2025-26 school year | ClassWallet | Yes | official |
| Tennessee | Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) | ~$7,300/student | expanding statewide | ClassWallet | Yes | official |
| West Virginia | Hope Scholarship | ~$5,000/student | universal eligibility | ClassWallet | Yes | official |
| North Carolina | Education Student Accounts (ESA+) | ~$9,000–$17,000/student (by need) | for students with disabilities | ClassWallet | No | official |
| Indiana | Education Scholarship Account (ESA) | ~$8,000/student | for eligible students | ClassWallet | No | official |
| New Hampshire | Education Freedom Account (EFA) | ~$5,000/student | income-eligible families | ClassWallet | No | official |
| Ohio Closed (historical record) | Afterschool Child Enrichment (ACE) | ~$1,000/student (enrichment) | income-eligible families | Merit (Other) | No | official |
| Georgia | Georgia Promise Scholarship | $6,500/student (disbursed quarterly) | launched 2025-2026; funding supports roughly 21,000 scholarships | Odyssey | No | official |
| Alabama | CHOOSE Act | $7,000/student at a participating school; $2,000 home-education (max $4,000/family) | ~49,000 applications for 2026-2027 (record) | ClassWallet | No | official |
| Louisiana | LA GATOR Scholarship Program | ~$5,200–$15,300/student by need (avg ~$7,250) | ~6,000 funded in year one (2025-2026) | Odyssey | No | official |
| Wyoming | Wyoming Education Savings Account Program (ESA) | $7,000/student (deposited in equal quarterly installments) | launching 2025-2026 (after 2025 litigation; injunction lifted) | Odyssey | Yes | official |
| Missouri | Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (MOScholars) | up to $6,375/student (2025-2026) | ~2,700 students, expanding toward 10,000+ with $50M in new funding | Odyssey | No | official |
| South Carolina | Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) | $7,634/student (2026-2027), paid in 4 quarterly installments | at its 15,000-student cap for 2026-2027 (new applicants waitlisted) | ClassWallet | No | official |
The numbers providers actually feel
- According to the Texas Comptroller, TEFA received applications for 200,000+ students before its March 2026 deadline and had 118,000+ students with active awards including 109,000+ funded by August 28, 2026 (official TEFA update) — while only ~2,400 vendors were listed in the marketplace at the July 1, 2026 launch.
- Vendor fees and payout deductions are agreement- and program-specific. Reconcile the gross approved amount, fee or adjustment, payout reference and actual deposit instead of pricing from a generic platform percentage.
- Published reimbursement review windows are not provider-payout promises. Separate family reimbursement, direct pay, marketplace fulfillment, approval and bank settlement when measuring timing.
- Eligibility, category, identity, documentation, arithmetic and payout setup can each delay a transaction. GetESAPaid will publish observed rejection and timing benchmarks only after the privacy threshold is met.
Six visual checks
Turn program data into a six-step evidence workflow
Use these as a sequence: verify the source, pass every eligibility layer, confirm the expense, assemble the packet, follow the transaction status, then match the deposit. Each visual summarizes a separate decision and the official program still controls.
Selling into one of these programs?
Start with the sourced state record, then verify the current application, invoice and transaction requirements before acting.
Find your state →FAQ
How many states have ESA programs in 2026?
17 active state programs are included in this source register (plus 1 closed historical record), with 9 active programs marked universal or near-universal under the recorded program criteria. Verify the official source in each row because program status and terminology change.
How big is the Texas TEFA program?
The GetESAPaid source record lists a $1B appropriation and published 2026 account, award, vendor and waitlist figures. Use the linked Texas program source for the latest count rather than treating a launch figure as current forever.
How much are ESA awards worth?
Award structures vary by state, student, school setting, disability status, year and appropriation. The table records the current published range or summary for each program and links the controlling official source.
Which payment platforms move ESA money?
The records include ClassWallet, Odyssey, Step Up For Students and program-specific administration. The organization that controls eligibility can differ from the technology that routes a transaction.
Sources
- Texas Comptroller TEFA press releases (June 10 & June 30, 2026) and educationfreedom.texas.gov funding timelines
- Official state program pages linked per row in the table above
- ClassWallet, Odyssey and Step Up For Students vendor documentation