2025 Compare Cities Education:
Ames, IA vs Santa Barbara, CA

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Highlights
- Santa Barbara spends 1.6% less per student than Ames.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 42.9% higher in Santa Barbara than in Ames. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Santa Barbara had 9.3% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Ames
 Ames, IASanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$16,705$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,178  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,862$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio14.7  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock123874573
 Students per Counselor346  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock7.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock88.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.15.9%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.61.4%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock12.6%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.4%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock3.5%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 Santa Barbara    51 Reviews

I moved to Santa Barbara around 23 years ago to study at Brooks, which like most of the Santa Barbara that I knew—has been destroyed. Homelessness, drugs, gangs, high  More

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Over 4 years ago

I fell in love with Santa Barbara about thirty years ago and finally moved here a few years ago. Because of the price of homes, it is an expensive place to live. The  More

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If you like high crime, paying a $4,500 a month mortgage and crazy high taxes, this is the place for you. It’s too bad because it wasn’t always like this. When I moved  More

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