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

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Highlights
- West Des Moines spends 16.7% less per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 1.1% higher in West Des Moines than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- West Des Moines had 6.8% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, SCWest Des Moines, IAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,293$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,952  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,373$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.36  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock7994573
 Students per Counselor336  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock1.3%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.7.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock96.6%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.8%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.6%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.44.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock13.3%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.5%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.6%1.5%
Reviews for Columbia    50 Reviews

Over 2 years ago

I love living in Columbia! I recently graduated from USC and plan to stay. I read the reviews posted here and it shows that like many cities, your experience will depend  More

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Loved living in Columbia, SC prior to my job transfer. It's the perfect size - plenty to do, but still a laid back place. People are extremely friendly, there are  More

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Columbia is such a unique and underrated place. It has a lot of character and history, and good nature trails. Everything feels accessible (by car) and you can get from  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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