School supplies could cost Maryland families $175 this year, up 7% over 2025

As Maryland families get their kids ready for the 2026-2027 school year, they are facing higher prices for all school-related supplies.

An analysis by two research organizations, the Century Foundation and Groundwork Collaborative, found that a typical school supply list will cost $175, which is a 7.7% rise over last year. 

The rising costs make events like donation drives even more important, to help ease the burden on as many families as possible.

Sticker shock

No matter what school supplies you need, you are going to have to spend a little more. Here are some price hikes the two research groups discovered this year:

• Crayons: $1.20 (up 5.3% from 2025)
• No. 2 pencils: $11.84 (up 6.1% from 2025)
• One-subject notebook: $4.92 (up 23% from 2025)
• Lunch box: $18.91 (up 26.8% from 2025)

Also, due to inflation impacting grocery prices and other costs, estimates predict that families are expected to spend nearly $4,000 per child for the upcoming school year. That represents a 10.7% increase from last year.

Jennifer Glover, of Sykesville, said despite the price increases, her family has budgeted right this back-to-school season. But she added this has not always been the case.

"We have four children, and so when they were younger, trying to do back-to-school shopping was always expensive then," Glover said. "I can't really imagine it now."

Helping families out

To help Howard County families with the burden of school supply shopping, nonprofit groups decided to host a "Stuff the Bus" event on Friday.

Parking themselves outside of the Uno Pizzeria at the Long Gate Shopping Center in Ellicott City, the Bright Minds Foundation and Prepare for Success collected donated supplies for hours.

The Bright Minds Foundation is a nonprofit that works closely with the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS). Prepare for Success has been collecting school supplies for county families for 25 years.

Katy Sedney, the interim executive director for Bright Minds, said last year over 4,000 school supplies were collected at donation drives and collection sites.

"We have a very high rate of students that fall into that free and reduced meals category. We have 57,000 students in the county, and I think it's 30% to 40% that require those additional meals," Sedney said. "So, all of those students are eligible for these supplies, or really any student that needs these supplies. It's quite a number in our county."

People who missed Friday's "Stuff the Bus" event can still donate. Click here for more information on how you can donate supplies or directly to Bright Minds or Prepare for Success.