2025 Compare Cities Education:
Portland, OR vs West Des Moines, IA

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Highlights
- West Des Moines spends 27.0% less per student than Portland.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 10.0% lower in West Des Moines than in Portland. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- West Des Moines had 3.6% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Portland
 Portland, ORWest Des Moines, IAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,293$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,240  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,373$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio17.25  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock7994573
 Students per Counselor299  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock1.3%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.3.6%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock96.6%88.9%
 Some College Educ.19.4%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.6%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.51.9%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock13.3%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.3%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.6%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

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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

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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

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Reviews for West Des Moines    4 Reviews

Over 16 years ago

I just moved here from out-of-state a few months ago and have been pleasantly surprised by the broad range of activities and amenities available in this medium sized IA  More

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Over 16 years ago

Am contemplating a move to WDM from the East Coast (NYC). Might there be anyone out there that may have experienced this and could offer guidance or comment. Thanks.   More

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We just moved to West Des Moines and we love it here! We moved here three months ago and every weekend we have been able to do something different and fun. There is  More

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