2025 Compare Cities Education:
Costa Mesa, CA vs Palo Alto, CA

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Highlights
- Palo Alto spends 20.4% more per student than Costa Mesa.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 7.0% lower in Palo Alto than in Costa Mesa. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Palo Alto had 10.8% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Costa Mesa
 Costa Mesa, CAPalo Alto, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$18,401$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$12,911  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$8,804$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio23.21  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock65284573
 Students per Counselor595  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock1.8%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.6.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock97.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.4%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock3.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.42.2%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock30.3%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock16.0%1.5%
Reviews for Costa Mesa    8 Reviews

Over 15 years ago

Costa mesa has awesome shopping but is way too crowded and I have had 3 cars stolen in the past 5 years along with countless break-ins and theft. Expensive. Close to  More

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Over 16 years ago

Costa Mesa has a near perfect climate . . . plenty of sun but rarely over 100 degrees (our house doesn't even have AC). Nestled between Newport Beach and Huntington  More

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We have a good amount of low-income, medium-income, and relatively high-income  More

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Reviews for Palo Alto    8 Reviews

The Bay Area in general, but Palo Alto specifically provides many of the qualities sought by many; the climate is beautiful, there is access to cultural and recreational  More

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Over 17 years ago

Very  More

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Over 18 years ago

VTA and SamsTrans and Caltrain all provide good service and most times frequency of service is  More

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