2025 Compare Cities Education:
Bellingham, WA vs Merced, CA

Change Cities
Highlights
- Merced spends 16.7% less per student than Bellingham.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 29.7% higher in Merced than in Bellingham. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Merced had 21.5% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Bellingham
 Bellingham, WAMerced, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,332$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,140  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,391$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio17.11  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock61024573
 Students per Counselor373  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock14.1%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.3.7%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock74.3%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.2%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.4%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.46.4%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock4.0%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.7%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.1%1.5%
Reviews for Bellingham    58 Reviews

Over 3 years ago

I've lived in so many cities in 5 west coast states and have come to a conclusion that Bellingham is the greatest city to live, work, play and raise a family. After  More

   |    Reply

Over 4 years ago

From what I’ve seen and heard, the very liberal political/ethical beliefs of Bellingham residents, as well as the grey rainy weather, are the main things a few people  More

   |    Reply

If you’re like many Americans and caught up in right vs left you won’t like the far left here in Bellingham wa. If you put politics away and you enjoy skiing,  More

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Bellingham

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

   |    Reply

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

   |    Reply

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

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Merced


Premium Subscription
Includes Cost of Living compares for child care, utilities, transportation, health, taxes, housing for home owners vs renters, weather, insurance premiums and so much more.


The premier source for comprehensive city data for over 30 years.

© Best Places. All rights reserved.