2025 Compare Cities Education:
San Mateo, CA vs Santa Barbara, CA

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Highlights
- Santa Barbara spends 16.8% less per student than San Mateo.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 6.2% higher in Santa Barbara than in San Mateo. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Santa Barbara had 4.3% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to San Mateo
 San Mateo, CASanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$16,705$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$15,457  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,862$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio19.79  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock123874573
 Students per Counselor431  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock7.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.3.2%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock88.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.14.9%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.58.2%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock12.6%9.3%
 Professional Degree3.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock3.5%1.5%
Reviews for San Mateo    12 Reviews

I have lived in San Mateo since 2013. It has seen tremendous growth, lots of new restaurants which have become progressively more high-end though there is ample  More

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I'm a native of California. I have lived in the southern part of the state and the northern part of the state for most of my life. I have spent the last 29 years in  More

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Over 15 years ago

San Mateo has a diverse mix of people, a pleasant climate, a very pleasant downtown park with lots going on, and pretty much whatever you need handy. It's not far to  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 4 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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