2025 Compare Cities Education:
Ames, IA vs Decatur, IL

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Highlights
- Decatur spends 14.8% less per student than Ames.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 7.6% higher in Decatur than in Ames. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Decatur had 7.2% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Ames
 Ames, IADecatur, ILUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,460$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,178  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$6,704$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio14.7  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock37214573
 Students per Counselor346  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.6%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock90.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.15.9%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.6%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.61.4%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock5.9%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.4%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.8%1.5%
Reviews for Ames    12 Reviews

Over 13 years ago

Hello, I am in San Jose Ca, but am seriously thinking of moving somewhere much slower for a better quality of living. I've just turned 59, so I'm kinda preparing for  More

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Over 13 years ago

Like every other city Ames has both good and bad points. The good points are: low cost of living, very friendly people, lots of outdoor activities and quite a few events  More

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Ames enjoys a high quality of life at a very affordable cost, substantially lower than many other communities. The presence of Iowa State University, a large (28,000  More

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Reviews for Decatur    14 Reviews

I was sent here by the company I worked for in the '90's and was not initially impressed with midwest living. However, over the years I got used to living in the "Pride  More

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I grew up in Decatur and I still have family there, but it depresses me to see what it has become. It has a high unemployment rate, many business have closed or are run  More

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Over 14 years ago

If you enjoy drinking & driving, Decatur's fifteen drive-thru liquor windows, three times the # of drive-thru's than the ten largest cities in Illinois, COMBINED, will  More

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