Key findings
- 9,273 providers are on the official approved lists that 10 states publish.
- 30% of providers with a listed location are based outside the state that approved them (2,232 of 7,439). In Alabama it's 45.6%; in West Virginia, 43.7%.
- About 452 businesses are approved in more than one state; one appears on 7 states' lists.
- 62.2% of Texas providers that list a delivery method serve students online, alone or alongside in-person work.
- Therapists are 21.6% of Texas's approved providers, against 6.6% in Alabama, 4.1% in South Carolina and 3.4% in Georgia.
- South Carolina's list is the only one that publishes rates: the median hourly tutoring rate is $55 across 178 tutors.
Providers by state
Lists differ in scope: some cover every kind of provider, others only schools, product vendors or course providers (see methodology). Counts are entries on each state's published lists.
- Texas2,111
- Alabama1,586
- Utah1,322
- West Virginia1,283
- South Carolina1,098
- Georgia803
- Missouri670
- Arkansas170
- Florida162
- Louisiana68
Working across state lines
Where a list gives each provider's location, 30% are based in another state: mostly online tutors, curriculum companies and virtual schools. The most common home states:
- California245
- Florida220
- Texas139
- Virginia127
- New York95
- Georgia85
- Pennsylvania82
- Arizona78
Matching the same business across lists (by its own website, or a distinctive name), about 452 businesses are approved in more than one state:
- 2 states235
- 3 states114
- 4 states63
- 5 states28
- 6 states11
- 7 states1
What providers offer
Only Texas, South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia publish each provider's type, so this section uses those 5,598 providers.
- Tutors1,34824.1%
- Schools1,31223.4%
- Educational products1,21421.7%
- Therapists63211.3%
- Other services5419.7%
- Classes and instruction5309.5%
- Testing and exams130.2%
- Transportation80.1%
| State | Tutors | Therapists | Schools | Educational products | Classes and instruction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 18.7% | 21.6% | 8.9% | 23% | 7.2% |
| South Carolina | 28.6% | 4.1% | 35.6% | 23.6% | 6.6% |
| Alabama | 27.9% | 6.6% | 23.7% | 24.9% | 16.3% |
| Georgia | 24.4% | 3.4% | 44.6% | 9.3% | 5.6% |
In person or online
Texas is the only list that records how each provider serves students. Of the 1,569 Texas providers with a delivery method:
- In person59337.8%
- In person and online79050.4%
- Online18611.9%
What tutors charge
South Carolina publishes a rate for many providers. Across 178 tutors with an hourly rate (ranges counted at their midpoint), the median is $55 an hour. No other state's list includes prices.
Cities with the most approved providers
- Houston, TX164
- Austin, TX106
- San Antonio, TX100
- Birmingham, AL83
- Mobile, AL78
- Dallas, TX69
- Atlanta, GA67
- Montgomery, AL66
- Greenville, SC58
- St. Louis, MO53
- Columbia, SC51
- Morgantown, WV51
Counts only providers based in the state that approved them.
Methodology
- Every record comes from a list a state or its program administrator publishes (sources below). We don't add providers from anywhere else, and we publish no phone numbers, emails or street addresses.
- Provider types come from the list where it has them (TX, SC, AL, GA). Utah, Missouri and West Virginia list names only, so their types are estimated from names and left out of type comparisons. Florida's public list is product vendors only, Arkansas's is schools, and Louisiana's is course providers.
- A provider counts as out of state when its listed state differs from the approving state. A business counts as multi-state when its own website domain, or a distinctive name, matches entries on other states' lists; franchise domains shared by many locations are excluded.
- Lists are as current as each state makes them. Texas's oldest list is from Mar 1, 2026; Georgia's oldest list is from Sep 22, 2025. Nine programs (Arizona, North Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, Iowa, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Mississippi and Montana) publish no approved-provider list, so they aren't included.
Cite this report
ChoicePaid (Hokuto Labs). “The State of ESA Providers, 2026.” Data as of Oct 10, 2026. https://www.choicepaid.com/reports/esa-providers-2026
The summary tables are available as a CSV download. Journalists and researchers: contact us for the methodology details or record-level questions.
Sources
- 1. TEFA Participating Vendors (March 2026) (Texas, Mar 1, 2026)
- 2. CHOOSE Act Education Service Providers (Alabama, Oct 9, 2026)
- 3. CHOOSE Act Participating Schools (Alabama, Oct 9, 2026)
- 4. Vendors and Service Providers with Approved Offerings in the UFA Marketplace (Utah, Sep 4, 2026)
- 5. Approved 26/27 UFA Private Schools (Utah, Jul 7, 2026)
- 6. Hope Scholarship Participating Schools and Service Providers (West Virginia, Oct 10, 2026)
- 7. 2026-27 ESTF Approved Service Provider List (South Carolina, Sep 28, 2026)
- 8. Georgia Promise Approved Service Providers and Vendors (2025/26) (Georgia, Sep 22, 2025)
- 9. Georgia Promise Participating Private Schools (2026/27) (Georgia, Apr 23, 2026)
- 10. Vendors/Service Providers with Approved Offerings on the MOScholars Marketplace (Missouri, Aug 31, 2026)
- 11. Approved MOScholars Schools by EAO (Missouri, Aug 13, 2026)
- 12. Current EFA Schools List (Arkansas, Oct 10, 2026)
- 13. Step Up For Students Vendor and Product Listing (Florida, Oct 10, 2026)
- 14. Approved SCA Providers for the LA GATOR Scholarship Program (Louisiana, May 7, 2026)