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Google techie explains why 'free' public schools in US can still be costly: 'Tuition isn't charged per child'
A Google techie's post explaining the hidden cost of public education in the US has sparked a discussion online.
A social media post by a Hyderabad-based Google engineer about the hidden cost of public education in the US has sparked a discussion online about schooling, housing and family priorities. In a LinkedIn post, Aditya Goyal shared his observations after returning to India and hearing frequent complaints about the high cost of school education in cities like Bengaluru.
Goyal explained that a typical private school in Bengaluru can cost around $4,000–$5,000 per year, while IB or IGCSE schools can charge nearly double. Premium institutions, he added, may exceed $15,000 annually. He said conversations about school fees in India often end with the assumption that education in the US is free because of the public school system. “For a long time, I believed that too,” Goyal wrote.
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‘Public education in US is free only on paper’
However, the techie argued that the reality becomes clearer once families with children start choosing where to live in the US. “When you first move to the US, you choose neighbourhoods based on proximity to work, restaurants, parks or nightlife. I did that too,” he wrote. “That changes very quickly once you have a child. Suddenly the most important question becomes: ‘What school district is this house in?’” he said.
Drawing on his experience of living in cities including Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Jersey City and Austin, Goyal said the pattern was consistent. He wrote that higher-rated public schools tend to be located in neighbourhoods where property prices and rents are significantly higher. “Families aren’t just choosing houses. They are buying access to a school district,” he said.
Goyal also noted that property taxes in such areas can often exceed $10,000–$15,000 per year, effectively making housing costs the price families pay for better public schooling. “The tuition isn’t charged per child. It’s charged per house,” he wrote.
Goyal concluded his post by saying that while public education in the US is technically free, the real cost often comes through where families can afford to live. “Public education in the US may be free on paper. But in many cities, the real question is: Are you paying for school through tuition… or through your ZIP code?” he wrote.
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Social media reactions
Goyal’s post quickly triggered discussion online, with several users sharing their own perspectives on the relationship between housing and school districts.
One user wrote, “One of the trade-offs in the U.S. housing market is what you prioritize. For the same budget, some people choose a larger home in a weaker school district, while others choose a smaller home in a stronger one.”
“That is anyway true for metro cities like Bangalore, the school fees is in addition to the extremely high cost of apartments/houses in bangalore. In US, cities are spread out and yes better school district have higher rent. While in Delhi or Bangalore everything is clustered together and any decent locality is very expensive,” commented another.
