Key points:
- International Schools in the USA were the most expensive in the Americas in 2025
- There was a stark difference in international school costs between North and South/Central America
- Panama was the least expensive city in the region for international school costs in 2025
At the International Schools Database, we help local and expat parents choose the perfect international school for their children. Our database allows parents to find, research and compare international schools around the world. Naturally, this means that we gather and analyse a huge amount of information about international schools.
Starting in 2019, we began using this data to evaluate the prices of international schools across the globe. In this article, we share and analyze the prices of international schools in the Americas updated to 2025.
Below, we have analysed price data from 7 cities in 5 countries in the Americas, in graph and table forms. While we have used all price data available to us as of Dec 31st 2025, there may be additional schools and prices not included in each city. This is because they do not make their price data available or because it is unknown to us. Links to additional research focusing on each world region individually and globally can be found at the bottom of this article and here can be found the results of the previous year 2024.
Prices of International Schools in the Americas, Per Year
The graph below is known as a box plot graph. It shows a comprehensive view of the range of prices in each city, instead of just an average. A single average price may not necessarily represent the full picture of prices in each destination. Since there is a lot to unpack in this graph, we have also provided a little explanation on how to read the graph easily at the end of the article.
Highlights and takeaways from the research findings
According to our research, in 2025 New York City was the most expensive location for international schooling not only in the USA, but in all of the Americas and the world too. However it’s not just New York City where international school costs are high - the USA is home to the highest median costs in the Americas.
In New York City, the median cost of an international school in 2025 was $47,950. Next on the list was the San Francisco Bay Area, where it was $36,772. The third city was Chicago - $22,320, which is less than half that of New York City. The USA was the only country in the Americas where median costs were above $20,000 in 2025. Even in Toronto, Canada, the median cost of an international school stayed just under $20,000 at $19,489.
In Central and South America, the picture was very different. Of the three cities from this region included in our research, median costs for international schools varied from $9,048 in Panama City to $12,352 in Monterrey, Mexico. Panama City had the lowest median cost in all of the Americas for international schools in 2025. However, even international schools in Monterrey had a median cost that was almost four times lower than New York City.
The other Central/South American city included in our research, Lima in Peru, had very similar costs to Panama City. There was little difference in the median cost in both cities - $9,052 in Lima versus $9,048 in Panama. However, the same is true when looking at minimum and maximum costs in both cities, which ranged from $5,402 to $18,150 in Lima and from $6,700 to $19,293 in Panama City.
You can find a breakdown of exact prices for each American city in the table below. But if the Americas isn’t enough, we have also compiled price data for other regions and cities around the world; you can find links to this additional research at the bottom of this article. If you require any further information or have additional questions, don't hesitate to contact us at andrea@international-schools-database.com.
