| | Big Lake, MN | Nichols, IA | United States |
| Expend. per Student | $13,243 | $14,492 | $15,905 |
| Educ. Expend. per Student | $10,784 | $11,243 | $13,142 |
| Instr. Expend. per Student | $7,077 | $7,172 | $7,999 |
| Pupil/Teacher Ratio | 21.84 | 14.8 | 16.23 |
| Students per Librarian | 519 | 1008 | 4573 |
| Students per Counselor | 636 | 394 | 530 |
| Grade School Educ. | 1.2% | 6.9% | 4.8% |
| Some High School Educ. | 4.2% | 4.1% | 6.3% |
| High School Educ. | 94.6% | 89.0% | 88.9% |
| Some College Educ. | 25.7% | 26.9% | 20.0% |
| 2 yr College Grad. | 13.2% | 10.7% | 8.7% |
| 4 yr College Grad. | 24.8% | 11.4% | 33.7% |
| Masters Grad. | 4.2% | 0.3% | 9.3% |
| Professional Degree | 1.5% | 0.0% | 2.2% |
| Doctorate Degree | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1.5% |