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

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Highlights
- Santa Monica spends 21.9% more per student than Des Moines.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 40.8% higher in Santa Monica than in Des Moines. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Santa Monica had 8.3% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Des Moines
 Des Moines, IASanta Monica, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$17,429$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,894  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$8,492$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.53  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock65654573
 Students per Counselor362  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock3.1%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.6.4%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock94.3%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.2%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock6.1%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.28.1%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock17.6%9.3%
 Professional Degree1.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock4.1%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 Monica    24 Reviews

I moved here to Santa Monica over 10 years ago from Oklahoma City. I was surprised to see that Oklahoma City was ranked higher than Santa Monica on best places. I  More

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I've lived in Santa Monica for over 30 years. It's a Mediterranean climate--sunny and temperate when the rest of the country is under snow! I am walking distance to  More

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I have lived in this city for 4 decades, and it is never been worse than it is now. It is a dangerous disgusting hell hole. Between the crime, the homeless that are not  More

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