2025 Compare Cities Education:
Palm Desert, CA vs Santa Barbara, CA

Change Cities
Highlights
- Santa Barbara spends 9.2% more per student than Palm Desert.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 10.1% lower in Santa Barbara than in Palm Desert. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Santa Barbara had 5.6% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Palm Desert
 Palm Desert, CASanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$16,705$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$12,853  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,862$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio23.36  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock123874573
 Students per Counselor526  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock7.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.4.1%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock88.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.26.5%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.38.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock12.6%9.3%
 Professional Degree3.5%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock3.5%1.5%
Reviews for Palm Desert    14 Reviews

Over 4 years ago

Palm Desert, CA is full of rude people. One woman in a long sleeved pink shirt is being extremely rude and mocking people for no reason at a neighborhood Walmart in Palm  More

   |    Reply

Palm Desert is clean, upscale and beautiful. The views of the Santa Rosa Mountains bright blue sky and green expanses of golf course fairways, swimming pools and  More

   |    Reply

I made the mistake of moving here after a short vacation to be closer to family. Biggest mistake of my life! This is not the place to live if health is important to you.  More

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Palm Desert

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

   |    Reply

Over 4 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

   |    Reply

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

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Santa Barbara


Premium Subscription
Includes Cost of Living compares for child care, utilities, transportation, health, taxes, housing for home owners vs renters, weather, insurance premiums and so much more.


The premier source for comprehensive city data for over 30 years.

© Best Places. All rights reserved.