2025 Compare Cities Education:
Des Moines, IA vs Madison, WI

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Highlights
- Madison spends 23.4% more per student than Des Moines.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 15.0% lower in Madison than in Des Moines. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Madison had 9.8% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Des Moines
 Des Moines, IAMadison, WIUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$17,641$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,894  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,988$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.53  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock4344573
 Students per Counselor362  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.0%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.6.4%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock95.6%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.2%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.5%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.28.1%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock15.9%9.3%
 Professional Degree1.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock5.9%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 Madison    78 Reviews

Unfortunately, a number of these reviews are politically based. Madison remains the only shining star in Wisconsin’s economy. The economy is broadly based, with  More

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Have been living in Madison for almost 3 years. It’s very safe, ppl generally friendly and for a town of its size it has fair number of good restaurants and interesting  More

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Lacks balance and zero accountability.   More

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