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

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Highlights
- West Des Moines spends 16.3% less per student than Salem.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 15.8% lower in West Des Moines than in Salem. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- West Des Moines had 9.3% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Salem
 Salem, ORWest Des Moines, IAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,293$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$12,350  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,373$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio18.44  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock7994573
 Students per Counselor353  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock1.3%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.6.2%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock96.6%88.9%
 Some College Educ.25.8%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.6%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.30.0%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock13.3%9.3%
 Professional Degree1.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.6%1.5%
Reviews for Salem    37 Reviews

After reading the reviews here, I had to come write my own. The problem I had with most of the reviews is that most were very opinion-based and seemed to assume everyone  More

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Moved here approx. 4 years ago from SW Michigan, but I've lived in 9 other cities & 5 other states. Salem is a very manageable sized city, with tons of parks, diverse  More

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Over 5 years ago

I'm a native 5th generation Oregonian, so bear in mind that I was born with webs between my toes! Anyway, I used to think it rained too much when I was young. Then I  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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