2025 Compare Cities Education:
Des Moines, IA vs Elgin, IL

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Highlights
- Elgin spends 23.1% more per student than Des Moines.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 7.1% lower in Elgin than in Des Moines. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Elgin had 7.8% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Des Moines
 Des Moines, IAElgin, ILUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$17,588$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,894  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$8,985$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.53  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock13524573
 Students per Counselor362  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock11.5%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.6.4%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock80.3%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.2%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock8.6%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.28.1%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock7.8%9.3%
 Professional Degree1.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.9%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 Elgin    9 Reviews

When I first moved to Elgin 2 years ago I did not like it. I lived in a mobile home park near the river and highway 90 in a senior community that over prices it's lot  More

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Hi, as a way of updating the post for Elgin and providing a rebuttal for some of the negative reviews, I've decided to post on this board. I've lived in Elgin since  More

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Over 15 years ago

I have lived in Elgin my whole life and it is very sad to read these comments about my town.... I'm a senior at South Elgin High School and I will be graduating this  More

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