2025 Compare Cities Education:
Des Moines, IA vs Santa Barbara, CA

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Highlights
- Santa Barbara spends 16.9% more per student than Des Moines.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 35.3% higher in Santa Barbara than in Des Moines. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Santa Barbara had 1.0% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Des Moines
 Des Moines, IASanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$16,705$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,894  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,862$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.53  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock123874573
 Students per Counselor362  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock7.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.6.4%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock88.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.2%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.28.1%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock12.6%9.3%
 Professional Degree1.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock3.5%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 Santa Barbara    51 Reviews

I moved to Santa Barbara around 23 years ago to study at Brooks, which like most of the Santa Barbara that I knew—has been destroyed. Homelessness, drugs, gangs, high  More

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Over 4 years ago

I fell in love with Santa Barbara about thirty years ago and finally moved here a few years ago. Because of the price of homes, it is an expensive place to live. The  More

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If you like high crime, paying a $4,500 a month mortgage and crazy high taxes, this is the place for you. It’s too bad because it wasn’t always like this. When I moved  More

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