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

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Highlights
- Santa Maria spends 9.2% more per student than Palm Desert.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 10.1% lower in Santa Maria than in Palm Desert. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Santa Maria had 33.2% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Palm Desert
 Palm Desert, CASanta Maria, 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.  Unlock27.8%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.4.1%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock62.2%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.  Unlock2.8%9.3%
 Professional Degree3.5%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.3%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

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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

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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

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Reviews for Santa Maria    12 Reviews

Over 6 years ago

I live in Orcutt which is a town of around 35,000 on the south side of Santa Maria. Santa Maria has, as everyone has noted, the best climate in the world. It never  More

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I have lived in Santa Maria / Orcutt for several years, but it is time to leave. I have no issues with the weather. Our climate is mild and comfortable with no extremes.  More

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The weather is very mild without a huge temperature change with the seasons. The winters are chilly but not cold and the summers are warm but not hot. Of course there  More

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