2025 Compare Cities Education:
Birmingham, AL vs Des Moines, IA

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Highlights
- Des Moines spends 8.3% more per student than Birmingham.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 19.6% lower in Des Moines than in Birmingham. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Des Moines had 0.9% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Birmingham
 Birmingham, ALDes Moines, IAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,293$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,144  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,373$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio19.32  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock7994573
 Students per Counselor417  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock6.5%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.9.1%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock87.1%88.9%
 Some College Educ.22.6%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.28.8%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock6.2%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.9%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.8%1.5%
Reviews for Birmingham    25 Reviews

Birmingham is better than ever, meaning it is beginning to gain half of the stuff a normal city of its size has. The food scene is definitely an exception and is above  More

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Lived in the Birmingham for years. The small city was divided by the historical train tracks into the north half and the south one. The north section was the  More

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Over 5 years ago

I moved to Birmingham 6.5 years ago for a new job. The city is very boring in my opinion, there isn't much to do over the weekend except shopping or eating out. Summer  More

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Reviews for Des Moines    53 Reviews

Des Moines is a ok and pretty quiet place but as a teen it could be dramatic because Des Moines do have is fair or violents places to avoid in Des Moines would be the  More

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Dude · 
Over 5 years ago

This city is violent, there are too many gangs especially on the north  More

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Over 6 years ago

Good for the old that like slow pace and cheap buffets. Also good for non-descript mid-westerners that don't like a lot of action. No nightlife or mountains to hike  More

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