2026 Compare Cities Education:
Lake Forest, CA vs Madison, WI

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Highlights
- Madison spends 15.5% more per student than Lake Forest.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 43.1% lower in Madison than in Lake Forest. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Madison had 2.8% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Lake Forest
 Lake Forest, CAMadison, WIUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$17,641$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$12,911  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,988$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio23.21  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock4344573
 Students per Counselor595  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.0%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.3.6%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock95.6%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.5%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.5%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.48.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock15.9%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.7%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock5.9%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 Madison    78 Reviews

Unfortunately, a number of these reviews are politically based. Madison remains the only shining star in Wisconsin’s economy. The economy is broadly based, with  More

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Have been living in Madison for almost 3 years. It’s very safe, ppl generally friendly and for a town of its size it has fair number of good restaurants and interesting  More

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Lacks balance and zero accountability.   More

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