2025 Compare Cities Education:
Des Moines, IA vs Palo Alto, CA

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Highlights
- Palo Alto spends 28.7% more per student than Des Moines.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 39.0% higher in Palo Alto than in Des Moines. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Palo Alto had 11.4% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Des Moines
 Des Moines, IAPalo Alto, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$18,401$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,894  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$8,804$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.53  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock65284573
 Students per Counselor362  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock1.8%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.6.4%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock97.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.2%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock3.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.28.1%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock30.3%9.3%
 Professional Degree1.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock16.0%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 Palo Alto    8 Reviews

The Bay Area in general, but Palo Alto specifically provides many of the qualities sought by many; the climate is beautiful, there is access to cultural and recreational  More

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Over 17 years ago

Very  More

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Over 18 years ago

VTA and SamsTrans and Caltrain all provide good service and most times frequency of service is  More

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