2025 Compare Cities Education:
Columbia, MD vs Des Moines, IA

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Highlights
- Des Moines spends 20.2% less per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 15.4% higher in Des Moines than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Des Moines had 8.5% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, MDDes Moines, IAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,293$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$16,615  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,373$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio13.46  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock7994573
 Students per Counselor331  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock6.5%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.0%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock87.1%88.9%
 Some College Educ.14.0%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.62.8%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock6.2%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.8%1.5%
Reviews for Columbia    28 Reviews

Over 5 years ago

Lived here for a while, beautiful opportunities, pays well, overall nice  More

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Been here 30 years was great at first but once they added a transit bus from baltimore to columbia 15-18 years ago that was the beginning of the end. And about 5 years  More

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Columbia can be described in one word: unequal. The neighborhood I live in, River Hill, is jam-packed with almost million-dollar homes, while the neighborhoods of Long  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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