2025 Compare Cities Education:
Richmond, VA vs Des Moines, IA

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Highlights
- Des Moines spends 7.5% less per student than Richmond.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 7.8% higher in Des Moines than in Richmond. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Des Moines had 0.7% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Richmond
 Richmond, VADes Moines, IAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,293$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,373  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,373$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio14.41  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock7994573
 Students per Counselor272  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock6.5%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.7.6%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock87.1%88.9%
 Some College Educ.19.2%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.43.1%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock6.2%9.3%
 Professional Degree3.7%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.8%1.5%
Reviews for Richmond    109 Reviews

Over 3 years ago

Lived here for a year and it’s not perfect but it’s constantly improving now (areas redevloped, more businesses, job growth). Cost of living is great compared to  More

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Over 4 years ago

We love Richmond so much that when we talk about where we'd like to live if we could live anywhere in the US, we always come back to RVA. We live in the city proper  More

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Over 4 years ago

I'm an out-of-towner but am coming up on 1 year in Richmond. I would summarize it this way: the best thing and the worst thing about Richmond is its location. I'll  More

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Reviews for Des Moines    53 Reviews

Des Moines is a ok and pretty quiet place but as a teen it could be dramatic because Des Moines do have is fair or violents places to avoid in Des Moines would be the  More

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Dude · 
Over 5 years ago

This city is violent, there are too many gangs especially on the north  More

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Over 6 years ago

Good for the old that like slow pace and cheap buffets. Also good for non-descript mid-westerners that don't like a lot of action. No nightlife or mountains to hike  More

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