2025 Compare Cities Education:
Ames, IA vs Merced, CA

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Highlights
- Merced spends 15.6% less per student than Ames.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 51.0% higher in Merced than in Ames. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Merced had 23.5% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Ames
 Ames, IAMerced, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,332$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,178  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,391$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio14.7  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock61024573
 Students per Counselor346  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock14.1%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock74.3%88.9%
 Some College Educ.15.9%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.4%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.61.4%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock4.0%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.4%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.1%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 Merced    44 Reviews

Merced is totally slept on - you want a little bit of everything CA has to offer, at a fraction of the price of other CA cities? Merced is the place to go. The town  More

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Over 5 years ago

Good place to live. More affordable than most of california. The city is growing and there is alot of business and growth here. Moved from the Bay area years ago and  More

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Great place to live. Lots of progress and changes coming to the city. Great place to raise a family. UC Merced is expanding and businesses are investing. Downtown is  More

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