2026 Compare Cities Education:
San Marcos, TX vs Santa Barbara, CA

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Highlights
- Santa Barbara spends 19.0% more per student than San Marcos.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 44.4% higher in Santa Barbara than in San Marcos. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Santa Barbara had 2.8% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to San Marcos
 San Marcos, TXSanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$16,705$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$9,966  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,862$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio14.55  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock123874573
 Students per Counselor424  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock7.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.5.5%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock88.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.23.7%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.34.8%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock12.6%9.3%
 Professional Degree1.2%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock3.5%1.5%
Reviews for San Marcos    6 Reviews

An area with so much potential and existing natural beauty.Sadly bad urban planning is clearly obvious.Looks like fun for tens of thousands of students.However for the  More

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Over 17 years ago

San Marcos has the most beautiful people and places that I have ever seen throughout my travels. I love this city so much that I decided to settle down here and start a  More

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Over 18 years ago

I spent several summers and a couple winters in San Marcos during my formidable years and really have to tell those interested about what a nice town it is. The best  More

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Reviews for Santa Barbara    51 Reviews

I moved to Santa Barbara around 23 years ago to study at Brooks, which like most of the Santa Barbara that I knew—has been destroyed. Homelessness, drugs, gangs, high  More

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Over 5 years ago

I fell in love with Santa Barbara about thirty years ago and finally moved here a few years ago. Because of the price of homes, it is an expensive place to live. The  More

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If you like high crime, paying a $4,500 a month mortgage and crazy high taxes, this is the place for you. It’s too bad because it wasn’t always like this. When I moved  More

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