2026 Compare Cities Education:
Merritt Island, FL vs Santa Barbara, CA

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Highlights
- Santa Barbara spends 55.9% more per student than Merritt Island.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 28.5% higher in Santa Barbara than in Merritt Island. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Santa Barbara had 8.1% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Merritt Island
 Merritt Island, FLSanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$16,705$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$9,148  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,862$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio16.35  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock123874573
 Students per Counselor397  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock7.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.8%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock88.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.19.9%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.40.6%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock12.6%9.3%
 Professional Degree1.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock3.5%1.5%
Reviews for Merritt Island    5 Reviews

Over 12 years ago

It can get hot in the summer, but you get a breeze off the ocean most afternoons. If you live on the waterways, it seems to be a little cooler. Winters are  More

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Over 15 years ago

New to the area, but soon to know more. Florida is a sunshine state  More

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Over 18 years ago

Coming from Virginia, the Merritt Island architecture leaves a lot to be desired. Hurricane season (June - November) causes me a lot of  More

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Reviews for Santa Barbara    51 Reviews

I moved to Santa Barbara around 23 years ago to study at Brooks, which like most of the Santa Barbara that I knew—has been destroyed. Homelessness, drugs, gangs, high  More

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Over 5 years ago

I fell in love with Santa Barbara about thirty years ago and finally moved here a few years ago. Because of the price of homes, it is an expensive place to live. The  More

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If you like high crime, paying a $4,500 a month mortgage and crazy high taxes, this is the place for you. It’s too bad because it wasn’t always like this. When I moved  More

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