2026 Compare Cities Education:
Alexandria, VA vs Petaluma, CA

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Highlights
- Petaluma spends 12.1% less per student than Alexandria.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 36.0% higher in Petaluma than in Alexandria. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Petaluma had 2.8% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Alexandria
 Alexandria, VAPetaluma, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$16,850$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$18,099  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$8,508$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.31  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock142404573
 Students per Counselor2239  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock4.6%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.7%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock90.5%88.9%
 Some College Educ.12.2%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.4%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.65.2%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock9.9%9.3%
 Professional Degree6.7%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.4%1.5%
Reviews for Alexandria    49 Reviews

Old Town Alexandria is a charming port city, with lovely historic homes, fun restaurants and sweet shops. Its easy proximity to the hustle and bustle of DC offer  More

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Alexandria is different depending on what part of it you are in. There is a huge strata of rich and poor, with a few middle class neighborhoods in between. Old town is  More

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The mailing address in this area is Alexandria, or Engleside. Either way, it's SE Fairfax County between Fort Belvoir and Mount Vernon. The neighborhood has been here  More

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Reviews for Petaluma    16 Reviews

I agree with the low star reviews. Been here for 25 years, raised a family and seen everything turn to the left and worse. Weather is glorious, love the old Victorians  More

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We’ve lived here for 3 years and we love it. It has taken some time to grow on us. We moved from SF where we had lived over 15 years, we were not used to one year leases  More

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I’ve lived here a couple of years (after living in others parts of the Bay Area for 15+ years) and I love it! Great neighborhoods, friendly folks, good schools with  More

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