2025 Compare Cities Education:
Des Moines, IA vs Philadelphia, PA

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Highlights
- Philadelphia spends 80.8% more per student than Des Moines.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 3.2% lower in Philadelphia than in Des Moines. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Philadelphia had 0.6% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Des Moines
 Des Moines, IAPhiladelphia, PAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$25,843$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,894  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,842$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.53  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock23804573
 Students per Counselor362  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock5.1%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.6.4%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock86.6%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.2%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock6.0%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.28.1%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock9.3%9.3%
 Professional Degree1.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.8%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 Philadelphia    139 Reviews

Philadelphia is a very walkable and fun city to explore (albeit be aware of where not to explore at least at night). The city has beautiful old architecture , great  More

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I’m originally from New York City, then lived in a small city in upstate New York for eight years, then moved down to Philadelphia and have lived here for many years.  More

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Now the only reason some people disagree is because MONEY. If you live in “manayunk” (which I lived for 2 years) you can’t compare … you can’t compare your out skirt  More

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