2026 Compare Cities Education:
Chicago, IL vs Tuscaloosa, AL

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Highlights
- Tuscaloosa spends 45.9% less per student than Chicago.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 37.7% higher in Tuscaloosa than in Chicago. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Tuscaloosa had 4.4% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Chicago
 Chicago, ILTuscaloosa, ALUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$11,846$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$18,508  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$5,597$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio13.97  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock5284573
 Students per Counselor481  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.9%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.6.8%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock90.1%88.9%
 Some College Educ.17.0%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock6.8%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.41.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock11.0%9.3%
 Professional Degree3.6%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock4.0%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 Tuscaloosa    9 Reviews

This is the deal with Tuscaloosa. If you have strong family support that will keep you on track, you may be okay. Alabama has too many broken, uneducated, poor  More

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We've lived in Tuscaloosa for several years now. It's a diverse, friendly college town -- home of the University of Alabama and it's lovely campus -- that is relatively  More

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Tuscaloosa used to have some character. We had a decent live music scene, an up and coming artist community, affordable housing, and there were even several places for  More

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