2026 Compare Cities Education:
Costa Mesa, CA vs Seaside, CA

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Highlights
- Seaside spends 0.6% more per student than Costa Mesa.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 6.4% lower in Seaside than in Costa Mesa. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Seaside had 8.3% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Costa Mesa
 Costa Mesa, CASeaside, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$15,375$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$12,911  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,645$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio23.21  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock289524573
 Students per Counselor595  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock11.8%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.6.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock80.3%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.4%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock10.9%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.42.2%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock5.9%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.3%1.5%
Reviews for Costa Mesa    8 Reviews

Over 16 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 17 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 Seaside    4 Reviews

Over 5 years ago

I’ve lived in Seaside for the past 20 years and I love it. I’m a fourth generation Monterey Bay family. Seaside hands down has the best views in the Monterey Bay. It’s a  More

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Over 16 years ago

Housing in Seaside is more affordable than it was, mainly due to the bursting of the housing bubble. There are still problems, though, mainly because of the huge number  More

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Over 20 years ago

unless you went to grad school, or are already rich, don't expect to be able to get a nice house here. You'll be house-poor(not able to afford anything outside of your  More

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