2025 Compare Cities Education:
Olympia, WA vs West Des Moines, IA

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Highlights
- West Des Moines spends 16.4% less per student than Olympia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 13.7% lower in West Des Moines than in Olympia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- West Des Moines had 1.6% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Olympia
 Olympia, WAWest Des Moines, IAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,293$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$13,853  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,373$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio18  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock7994573
 Students per Counselor439  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock1.3%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.9%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock96.6%88.9%
 Some College Educ.22.0%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.6%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.46.3%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock13.3%9.3%
 Professional Degree3.7%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.6%1.5%
Reviews for Olympia    39 Reviews

We moved here from Kitsap Bremerton/Silverdale WA area and this beats it all the way in all material ways. The only reason not to give it 5 stars is the cost of  More

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Over 4 years ago

The city is horrible. The business have been chased out by homeless. The city government makes it for difficult for businesses to thrive. If you like what Seattle is  More

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Having lived all over the world we decided to retire in Olympia and live on the Puget Sound. Yes it rains but the weather can change dramatically in a day with sun and  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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