2025 Compare Cities Education:
Chicago, IL vs Santa Barbara, CA

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Highlights
- Santa Barbara spends 23.7% less per student than Chicago.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 50.4% higher in Santa Barbara than in Chicago. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Santa Barbara had 1.9% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Chicago
 Chicago, ILSanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$16,705$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$18,508  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,862$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio13.97  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock123874573
 Students per Counselor481  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock7.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.6.8%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock88.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.17.0%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.41.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock12.6%9.3%
 Professional Degree3.6%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock3.5%1.5%
Reviews for Chicago    270 Reviews

I've lived in Chicago city and later moved to suburbs when family size increased. Absolutely love this city. This is the cleanest and most beautiful among the major  More

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Chicago is probably the best value in a major city that you can find and my personal favorite city. It will become increasingly important as climate change makes the  More

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I've live on north side and south side, UIC medical center. Don't move here go to the north side. No good amenities, if you get bored with one there is no other choices.  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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