2026 Compare Cities Education:
Rapid City, SD vs La Plata, MD

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Highlights
- La Plata spends 70.7% more per student than Rapid City.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 1.7% lower in La Plata than in Rapid City. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- La Plata had 3.9% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Rapid City
 Rapid City, SDLa Plata, MDUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$17,634$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$9,859  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$8,822$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.14  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock9604573
 Students per Counselor407  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock6.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.4.1%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock90.9%88.9%
 Some College Educ.22.2%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.9%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.34.8%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock11.2%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.6%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.6%1.5%
Reviews for Rapid City    31 Reviews

I have lived in this city for the last three and half years and I can't stand it!! Let me spell it out for you, but to be fair, let me give you the Pros first:  More

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Unless you made your pension out of state or already bought a home you can't afford to liver there. Rapid City is gray in winter.  More

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Over 5 years ago

I've lived in the city 5 years a loved  More

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Reviews for La Plata    7 Reviews

Over 13 years ago

Nice little town, but very expensive to live here, especially if one is retired on a fixed  More

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We have lived here for several years now. The schools are good and the teachers have been excellent. There are also several good private schools available. The people  More

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Terrible traffic, runaway growth, fast sliding into a  More

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