2025 Compare Cities Education:
La Mesa, CA vs Lake Forest, CA

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Highlights
- Lake Forest spends 6.6% less per student than La Mesa.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 2.5% higher in Lake Forest than in La Mesa. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Lake Forest had 0.5% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to La Mesa
 La Mesa, CALake Forest, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$15,277$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$13,161  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$8,037$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio22.65  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock163834573
 Students per Counselor513  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock3.4%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.3.5%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock93.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.27.5%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.3%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.37.8%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock12.4%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.0%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.9%1.5%
Reviews for La Mesa    9 Reviews

The same San Diego prices and high taxes, but not the nice weather. 15 degrees hotter than the coast. Save the money and move to AZ if you like the climate in La Mesa.  More

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I now live in Wyoming but I was a third generation San Diegan, my maternal grandmother having been born on Coronado Island in 1894. If you are a new arrival to the  More

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I Need Correct Information I lived there Over 20 Years  More

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Reviews for Lake Forest    16 Reviews

I've lived in Lake Forest for over a decade, before that elsewhere in OC and also up in LA. Lake Forest isn't perfect but it's really improved over the past decade,  More

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As a retired senior who has lived in Lake Forest (formerly El Toro) since 1977 I think LF is a great place if you can afford it. When we moved here in June '77 homes  More

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I’ve lived here for 2 years. Ok, it’s more like a 4 but there are so many idiots downplaying what it’s like here and giving Lake Forest ones and twos. There are a lot of  More

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