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

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Highlights
- West Des Moines spends 20.2% less per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 15.4% higher in West Des Moines than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- West Des Moines had 1.5% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, MDWest Des 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.  Unlock1.3%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.0%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock96.6%88.9%
 Some College Educ.14.0%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.6%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.62.8%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock13.3%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.6%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 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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