2025 Compare Cities Education:
Grand Rapids, MI vs Ames, IA

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Highlights
- Ames spends 15.8% more per student than Grand Rapids.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 13.5% lower in Ames than in Grand Rapids. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Ames had 9.4% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Grand Rapids
 Grand Rapids, MIAmes, IAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$16,979$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,296  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,158$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio17  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock6004573
 Students per Counselor681  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock0.7%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.6.0%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock97.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.1%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.7%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.38.8%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock17.2%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.2%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock9.7%1.5%
Reviews for Grand Rapids    62 Reviews

I've lived in Grand Rapids about 85% of my life and can confidently say it is a great place to live for anyone. I know countless people who dogged the city, moved  More

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Grand Rapids proper - the small city - is fairly OK. Nothing special stands out about it when judged against the nicer areas of the US, but it has some decent dining and  More

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Wow. “bland Rapids and everyone is Smug, uptight and part of the Christian Reformed Church. “ Someone is accurately describing Grand Rapids in 1985. Much has changed  More

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Reviews for Ames    12 Reviews

Over 13 years ago

Hello, I am in San Jose Ca, but am seriously thinking of moving somewhere much slower for a better quality of living. I've just turned 59, so I'm kinda preparing for  More

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Over 13 years ago

Like every other city Ames has both good and bad points. The good points are: low cost of living, very friendly people, lots of outdoor activities and quite a few events  More

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Ames enjoys a high quality of life at a very affordable cost, substantially lower than many other communities. The presence of Iowa State University, a large (28,000  More

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