2025 Compare Cities Education:
Helena, MT vs Santa Maria, CA

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Highlights
- Santa Maria spends 8.9% more per student than Helena.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 44.3% higher in Santa Maria than in Helena. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Santa Maria had 35.4% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Helena
 Helena, MTSanta Maria, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$16,705$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,469  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,862$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio14.56  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock123874573
 Students per Counselor314  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock27.8%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.8%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock62.2%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.1%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.50.2%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock2.8%9.3%
 Professional Degree3.3%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.3%1.5%
Reviews for Helena    17 Reviews

I spent 6 months living on a ranch in the Helena valley. This was during the population boom Montana experienced after covid. Helena has some great mountain biking  More

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Over 3 years ago

We transplanted from Southern California 3 years ago and have never looked back! Living in the small unincorporated town of York Montana located in the Helena nation  More

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Over 5 years ago

I lived here for 16 years. It is a great place to grow  More

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Reviews for Santa Maria    12 Reviews

Over 6 years ago

I live in Orcutt which is a town of around 35,000 on the south side of Santa Maria. Santa Maria has, as everyone has noted, the best climate in the world. It never  More

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I have lived in Santa Maria / Orcutt for several years, but it is time to leave. I have no issues with the weather. Our climate is mild and comfortable with no extremes.  More

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The weather is very mild without a huge temperature change with the seasons. The winters are chilly but not cold and the summers are warm but not hot. Of course there  More

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