2026 Compare Cities Education:
Plano, TX vs Santa Barbara, CA

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Highlights
- Santa Barbara spends 12.1% more per student than Plano.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 40.7% higher in Santa Barbara than in Plano. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Santa Barbara had 5.7% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Plano
 Plano, TXSanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$16,705$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$9,587  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,862$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio14.93  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock123874573
 Students per Counselor405  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock7.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.9%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock88.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.16.2%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.58.1%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock12.6%9.3%
 Professional Degree3.0%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock3.5%1.5%
Reviews for Plano    42 Reviews

I had lived in Plano for over 30 years. It is where I bought my first home as a single woman, where I married, and where I raised my children. I was fortunate enough  More

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We have lived in Plano for 20 years. It has been consistently rated very highly in surveys of best places to live in the US. Pros are the parks system; which includes  More

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Over 5 years ago

I've lived here for a while now. It's wonderful here. There's a ton to do, great jobs, great parks, and pretty good school. It's the perfect  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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