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

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Highlights
- Costa Mesa spends 0.0% less per student than Lake Forest.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 0.0% lower in Costa Mesa than in Lake Forest. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Costa Mesa had 5.8% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Lake Forest
 Lake Forest, CACosta Mesa, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$15,277$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$12,911  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$8,037$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio23.21  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock163834573
 Students per Counselor595  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock6.1%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.3.6%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock87.6%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.5%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.4%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.48.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock8.9%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.7%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.1%1.5%
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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Reviews for Costa Mesa    8 Reviews

Over 15 years ago

Costa mesa has awesome shopping but is way too crowded and I have had 3 cars stolen in the past 5 years along with countless break-ins and theft. Expensive. Close to  More

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Over 16 years ago

Costa Mesa has a near perfect climate . . . plenty of sun but rarely over 100 degrees (our house doesn't even have AC). Nestled between Newport Beach and Huntington  More

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We have a good amount of low-income, medium-income, and relatively high-income  More

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