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

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Highlights
- Petaluma spends 2.1% less per student than Bellingham.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 21.7% higher in Petaluma than in Bellingham. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Petaluma had 4.3% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Bellingham
 Bellingham, WAPetaluma, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$16,850$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,140  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$8,508$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio17.11  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock142404573
 Students per Counselor373  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock4.6%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.3.7%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock90.5%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.  Unlock9.9%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.7%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.4%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

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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

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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

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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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