2025 Compare Cities Education:
Lake Forest, IL vs Des Moines, IA

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Highlights
- Des Moines spends 41.5% less per student than Lake Forest.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 14.5% higher in Des Moines than in Lake Forest. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Des Moines had 12.1% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Lake Forest
 Lake Forest, ILDes Moines, IAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,293$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$20,875  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,373$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio13.56  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock7994573
 Students per Counselor592  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock6.5%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.0.4%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock87.1%88.9%
 Some College Educ.10.3%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.81.0%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock6.2%9.3%
 Professional Degree12.9%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.8%1.5%
Reviews for Lake Forest    4 Reviews

We relocated cross county to Lake Forest about a year ago due to a job change. We looked at nearby communities, within proximity of the work commute (the office is in  More

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Be prepared for a so called upscale town with entitled, overpaid, snooty people from teenagers who sneer at you to adults who look you up and down, who make demands on a  More

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Over 15 years ago

Long cold winters, short cold springs, hot humid summers, nice  More

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Reviews for Des Moines    53 Reviews

Des Moines is a ok and pretty quiet place but as a teen it could be dramatic because Des Moines do have is fair or violents places to avoid in Des Moines would be the  More

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Dude · 
Over 5 years ago

This city is violent, there are too many gangs especially on the north  More

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Over 6 years ago

Good for the old that like slow pace and cheap buffets. Also good for non-descript mid-westerners that don't like a lot of action. No nightlife or mountains to hike  More

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