2025 Compare Cities Education:
Santa Barbara, CA vs Chicago, IL

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Highlights
- Chicago spends 31.1% more per student than Santa Barbara.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 33.5% lower in Chicago than in Santa Barbara. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Chicago had 1.9% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Santa Barbara
 Santa Barbara, CAChicago, ILUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$21,907$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$13,158  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$11,567$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio21.01  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock14804573
 Students per Counselor539  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock7.0%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.4.9%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock86.3%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.5%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock5.7%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.50.5%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock12.2%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.6%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.8%1.5%
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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Reviews for Chicago    270 Reviews

I've lived in Chicago city and later moved to suburbs when family size increased. Absolutely love this city. This is the cleanest and most beautiful among the major  More

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Chicago is probably the best value in a major city that you can find and my personal favorite city. It will become increasingly important as climate change makes the  More

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I've live on north side and south side, UIC medical center. Don't move here go to the north side. No good amenities, if you get bored with one there is no other choices.  More

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