2025 Compare Cities Education:
Des Moines, IA vs Birmingham, AL

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Highlights
- Birmingham spends 7.7% less per student than Des Moines.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 24.4% higher in Birmingham than in Des Moines. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Birmingham had 0.9% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Des Moines
 Des Moines, IABirmingham, ALUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$13,194$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,894  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$6,493$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.53  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock5474573
 Students per Counselor362  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock3.0%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.6.4%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock87.9%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.2%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock8.4%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.28.1%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock6.8%9.3%
 Professional Degree1.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.6%1.5%
Reviews for Des Moines    53 Reviews

Des Moines is a ok and pretty quiet place but as a teen it could be dramatic because Des Moines do have is fair or violents places to avoid in Des Moines would be the  More

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Dude · 
Over 5 years ago

This city is violent, there are too many gangs especially on the north  More

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Over 6 years ago

Good for the old that like slow pace and cheap buffets. Also good for non-descript mid-westerners that don't like a lot of action. No nightlife or mountains to hike  More

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Reviews for Birmingham    25 Reviews

Birmingham is better than ever, meaning it is beginning to gain half of the stuff a normal city of its size has. The food scene is definitely an exception and is above  More

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Lived in the Birmingham for years. The small city was divided by the historical train tracks into the north half and the south one. The north section was the  More

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Over 5 years ago

I moved to Birmingham 6.5 years ago for a new job. The city is very boring in my opinion, there isn't much to do over the weekend except shopping or eating out. Summer  More

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