2026 Compare Cities Education:
Oro Valley, AZ vs Santa Cruz, CA

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Highlights
- Santa Cruz spends 52.1% more per student than Oro Valley.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 31.1% higher in Santa Cruz than in Oro Valley. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Santa Cruz had 1.4% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Oro Valley
 Oro Valley, AZSanta Cruz, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$16,364$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$8,897  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,688$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio16.66  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock62714573
 Students per Counselor519  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.3%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.1.6%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock95.7%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.7%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock8.1%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.56.0%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock18.0%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock5.5%1.5%
Reviews for Oro Valley    5 Reviews

Some of these reviews are so inaccurate. Rentals for a 2-bedroom are closer to $1000/mo and up if you want to live in a safer neighborhood. People here are so intolerant  More

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Over 16 years ago

I have lived here in Oro Valley for 3.8 years -love it here. however lack of cultural diversity, water and the 100+ heat each day for 3 months a year means that i am  More

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I am a retiree from New York. I moved to Tucson two years ago. Now we are about to buy a home in Oro Valley, just north of Tucson. I love this area. The mountains  More

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Reviews for Santa Cruz    44 Reviews

I lived in the Santa Cruz area for 20 years. UCSC alum. Our kids were born there. There are wonderful things about Santa Cruz, but also many serious problems that we  More

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Over 6 years ago

I have been here for four generations! My kids are the fifth. I guess that should tell you how wonderful it is here, at least for us. It's so cool to have world class  More

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I was born over the hill in San Jose area, and as a kid I loved coming over to the boardwalk. Santa Cruz has always been and always will be a town of diversity,  More

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