2025 Compare Cities Education:
Costa Mesa, CA vs Tucson, AZ

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Highlights
- Tucson spends 29.6% less per student than Costa Mesa.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 28.2% lower in Tucson than in Costa Mesa. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Tucson had 1.5% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Costa Mesa
 Costa Mesa, CATucson, AZUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$10,756$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$12,911  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$4,785$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio23.21  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock14474573
 Students per Counselor595  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock5.3%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.6.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock86.3%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.4%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock8.9%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.42.2%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock8.2%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.8%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 Tucson    287 Reviews

My wife and I characterize ourselves as a young couple, well educated, with decent positions and we’re Tucson natives. We’ve observed our quality of life from both a  More

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Over 1 years ago

I was reading the reviews for Tucson, and after living there for 6 years, I feel the need to weigh in. There are many pros in Tucson: access to recreational areas,  More

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I spend considerable time in and around Tucson, and I've see it rapidly going "downhill" since 2020. It's definitely not the nice town I remember from when I was a  More

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