School trip cost calculator: price per student
Quick answer
Add transport and fixed costs to the admission, meals and lodging for every student and adult. Take off fundraising and what paying adults cover, then divide by the students and round up to a whole dollar. For 40 students and 5 chaperones, with 3 adults going free, the example comes to $51 per student with $4 of rounding surplus.
Key points
- Adults on the trip cost admission, meals and lodging too. Adults who go free add their cost to the students' price.
- Paying adults cover their own per person costs but nothing toward transport, so the vehicle still falls on the students.
- Fundraising and subsidy come off the total before dividing, and the price rounds up to a whole dollar.
- In the example, 40 students and 5 chaperones come to $51 each, with $4 of surplus collected above the cost.
On this page
Price per student (rounded up to a whole dollar) $51.00
Price per student before rounding $50.90
Amount the students must cover $2,036
Total trip cost $2,490
Cost per person (admission, meals, lodging) $27.00
Cost of adults who go free, inside the students' price $81.00
Adults who pay their own way 2
Rounding surplus collected above the cost $4.00
Show the formula
- Cost per person = admission + meals + lodging
- Total trip cost = transport + other fixed costs + cost per person × (students + adult chaperones)
- Adults who pay = chaperones minus adults who go free (never below 0). Each pays the cost per person and nothing toward transport
- Amount the students must cover = total trip cost minus fundraising or subsidy minus (adults who pay × cost per person)
- Price per student = amount the students must cover ÷ students, rounded up to the next whole dollar
- Rounding surplus = price per student × students minus the amount the students must cover
When to use this calculator
Use it before you print the permission slip, when you need one price to ask each family for. Adults go on a school trip too. Chaperones cost admission and meals like anyone else, and some go free, so someone has to carry their cost. This calculator carries it in the students’ price, after taking off fundraising money and any adults who pay their own way.
When every person on the trip is a paying adult and costs are shared equally, the trip cost per person calculator is the simpler tool.
How the price is worked out
The calculator follows five steps.
- Cost per person. Admission plus meals plus lodging for one person. It is the same for a student and an adult.
- Total trip cost. Transport plus other fixed costs, plus the cost per person times everyone going, students and chaperones together. Transport and fixed costs are totals for the whole trip, not prices per head.
- Adults who pay. Chaperones minus the adults who go free. A paying adult covers their own cost per person and nothing toward transport, because the vehicle costs the same with or without them.
- What the students cover. The total, minus fundraising or subsidy already in hand, minus what paying adults pay.
- Price per student. That amount divided by the students, rounded up to the next whole dollar. The price times the students, minus the amount to cover, is the rounding surplus.
Worked example: 40 students and 5 chaperones
These numbers are made up to show the arithmetic. They are not typical prices for any trip, and they are the numbers the calculator opens with. Say the group hires buses for $1,150 and pays $125 for insurance and supplies. Admission is $18 and meals are $9 a person, with no lodging. Three of the five adults go free and two pay their own way. Fundraising has brought in $400.
| Step | Arithmetic | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per person | $18 + $9 | $27 |
| Everyone going | 45 people × $27 | $1,215 |
| Total trip cost | $1,150 + $125 + $1,215 | $2,490 |
| Paying adults pay | 2 × $27 | $54 |
| Students must cover | $2,490 minus $400 minus $54 | $2,036 |
That is $2,036 ÷ 40 = $50.90 a student, which rounds up to $51. The group collects 40 × $51 = $2,040, so $4 is left over. The three adults who go free cost 3 × $27 = $81, and about $2 of each student’s $51 pays for them.
What changes the price
Adding $30 a person for lodging adds $33 to the price, and losing the $400 of fundraising adds $10. Here is the same trip with one thing changed at a time.
| Change | Students must cover | Price per student |
|---|---|---|
| The example above | $2,036 | $51 |
| All 5 adults pay their own way | $1,955 | $49 |
| No fundraising | $2,436 | $61 |
| Lodging of $30 a person added | $3,326 | $84 |
Church, scout and sports trips
The arithmetic is the same for any trip where a leader sets one price per young person: a church youth night, a scout campout, a band or team trip. Leaders and coaches who go along are the adults, and a fund that pays part of the cost goes in the fundraising box. What a group may charge is for that group to decide.
Common mistakes
- Leaving the adults out of the headcount. Each one costs admission and meals. Leaving out the five adults in the example gives a price of $49, which collects $1,960 against $2,036 to cover, $76 short.
- Typing transport as a price per seat. The box takes the bus total for the whole trip, so a price per seat makes the whole trip look far cheaper.
- Counting a free adult as a paying one. The free adults box is for adults whose cost the students cover. Enter the 3 free adults in the example as paying and the price drops from $51 to $49, which collects $76 less than the $2,036 to cover.
- Entering fundraising twice. If fundraising already lowered the bus bill, leave it out of the subsidy box.
Collecting and tracking the payments
Once the price is set, put it on the field trip money collection form so every family sees the same number. If the trip belongs to a team or a club, keep the running totals in a sports team budget or a club budget. For ways to take the money, see how to collect money for a group trip.
If a leader fronts the costs and families pay back over several weeks, a Trip group in EvenOut can keep the running balance. Add each family as a guest, who needs no account, and record each payment as it comes in. EvenOut shows what each family still owes. It records payments and does not move money.
Frequently asked questions
How many chaperones should I enter?
Enter every adult who is actually going, because each one costs admission and meals whether or not they pay. Adding one more adult who goes free to the example adds $27 to the cost and moves the price from $51 to $52 after rounding up. How many adults a trip needs is set by your school or group.
Should adults who pay their own way be charged the student price?
In the calculator a paying adult covers only their own per person cost, which is $27 in the example, not a share of the transport. Whether the group charges adults that amount, the student price or something else is for the group to decide. The calculator shows what the adult's own costs are.
Why round up to a whole dollar?
A whole dollar price is easier to write on a form and to collect, and rounding up means the money collected is never below the amount to cover. In the example the exact price is $50.90, so $51 from 40 students collects $2,040 against $2,036 to cover.
What if the bus price or other costs are not final?
Run the calculator with the high estimate and the low estimate and compare the two prices. Because transport is one trip total, every extra $100 on the bus adds $2.50 per student in a group of 40 before rounding, which is $100 ÷ 40.
Keep reading
- Template Field trip money collection form (printable) A printable field trip money collection form: a roster of amounts due, a payment log with receipts and a bank deposit tally, filled for 8 students.
- Template Sports team budget template with per-player fee A sports team budget template with eight cost lines and a per-player fee worked for 12 players, plus what changes when players leave, join or play as spares.
- Template Club budget template: income, costs and dues A club budget template for 25 members: income, costs, reserve and variance, plus the dues per member formula and versions for student orgs and booster clubs.
- Guide How to collect money for a group trip Three ways to collect money for a group trip, with deadline dates, a rule for non-refundable money if someone drops out, and a message you can send.
- Calculator Trip cost per person calculator, with cost per night Enter lodging, transport, food, activities and other costs, plus people and nights, to see the cost per person and per night in cents that add up.