2025 Compare Cities Education:
Boulder, CO vs West Des Moines, IA

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Highlights
- West Des Moines spends 11.5% less per student than Boulder.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 9.2% lower in West Des Moines than in Boulder. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- West Des Moines had 0.3% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Boulder
 Boulder, COWest Des Moines, IAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,293$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$12,130  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,373$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio17.11  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock7994573
 Students per Counselor213  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock1.3%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.1.7%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock96.6%88.9%
 Some College Educ.10.6%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.6%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.76.8%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock13.3%9.3%
 Professional Degree5.7%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.6%1.5%
Reviews for Boulder    55 Reviews

Outside of the university, Boulder had a very distinctive "wealthy hippy" feel. A lot of alternative medicine and a matching ethos. This is changing some among my  More

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We moved here from Texas about 4 years ago and love it here! The amazing sense of community and high regard for the environment are two of the main reasons we love  More

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Over 5 years ago

Most people do much worse than Boulder. I'm the most critical person I've ever met who is never happy or satisfied -- so that's a pretty huge compliment.   More

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Reviews for West Des Moines    4 Reviews

Over 16 years ago

I just moved here from out-of-state a few months ago and have been pleasantly surprised by the broad range of activities and amenities available in this medium sized IA  More

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Over 16 years ago

Am contemplating a move to WDM from the East Coast (NYC). Might there be anyone out there that may have experienced this and could offer guidance or comment. Thanks.   More

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We just moved to West Des Moines and we love it here! We moved here three months ago and every weekend we have been able to do something different and fun. There is  More

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