2025 Compare Cities Education:
Madison, WI vs West Des Moines, IA

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Highlights
- West Des Moines spends 19.0% less per student than Madison.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 17.7% higher in West Des Moines than in Madison. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- West Des Moines had 1.1% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Madison
 Madison, WIWest Des Moines, IAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,293$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$13,473  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,373$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio13.2  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock7994573
 Students per Counselor415  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock1.3%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.4%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock96.6%88.9%
 Some College Educ.15.4%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.6%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.58.5%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock13.3%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.2%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.6%1.5%
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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Reviews for West Des Moines    4 Reviews

Over 16 years ago

I just moved here from out-of-state a few months ago and have been pleasantly surprised by the broad range of activities and amenities available in this medium sized IA  More

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Over 16 years ago

Am contemplating a move to WDM from the East Coast (NYC). Might there be anyone out there that may have experienced this and could offer guidance or comment. Thanks.   More

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We just moved to West Des Moines and we love it here! We moved here three months ago and every weekend we have been able to do something different and fun. There is  More

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