2025 Compare Cities Education:
Portland, OR vs Merced, CA

Change Cities
Highlights
- Merced spends 26.8% less per student than Portland.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 28.7% higher in Merced than in Portland. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Merced had 20.4% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Portland
 Portland, ORMerced, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,332$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,240  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,391$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio17.25  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock61024573
 Students per Counselor299  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock14.1%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.3.6%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock74.3%88.9%
 Some College Educ.19.4%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.4%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.51.9%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock4.0%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.3%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.1%1.5%
Reviews for Portland    386 Reviews

I lived in Portland for 19 years (I've also lived in Boise, ID, the Bay Area, Austin, TX and now Nampa, ID). It drives me nuts when people try to give a large city a  More

   |    Reply

One of the best cities in America. Food scene is the best in the world. Weather is preferable over places where you have the same weather year round. I enjoy the  More

   |    Reply

I moved from Houston to Portland about a year ago. I remember reading the reviews on here and it making me second guess moving before I did, so I wanted to come back and  More

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Portland

Reviews for Merced    44 Reviews

Merced is totally slept on - you want a little bit of everything CA has to offer, at a fraction of the price of other CA cities? Merced is the place to go. The town  More

   |    Reply

Over 5 years ago

Good place to live. More affordable than most of california. The city is growing and there is alot of business and growth here. Moved from the Bay area years ago and  More

   |    Reply

Great place to live. Lots of progress and changes coming to the city. Great place to raise a family. UC Merced is expanding and businesses are investing. Downtown is  More

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Merced


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.