2026 Compare Cities Education:
Santa Cruz, CA vs Fort Walton Beach, FL

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Highlights
- Fort Walton Beach spends 39.7% less per student than Santa Cruz.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 20.7% lower in Fort Walton Beach than in Santa Cruz. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Fort Walton Beach had 4.0% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Santa Cruz
 Santa Cruz, CAFort Walton Beach, FLUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$9,875$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$13,552  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$5,920$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio21.84  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock16174573
 Students per Counselor473  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock3.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.1.9%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock91.8%88.9%
 Some College Educ.19.7%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock10.3%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.56.6%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock8.2%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.9%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.9%1.5%
Reviews for Santa Cruz    44 Reviews

I lived in the Santa Cruz area for 20 years. UCSC alum. Our kids were born there. There are wonderful things about Santa Cruz, but also many serious problems that we  More

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Over 6 years ago

I have been here for four generations! My kids are the fifth. I guess that should tell you how wonderful it is here, at least for us. It's so cool to have world class  More

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I was born over the hill in San Jose area, and as a kid I loved coming over to the boardwalk. Santa Cruz has always been and always will be a town of diversity,  More

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Reviews for Fort Walton Beach    10 Reviews

Over 4 years ago

Ive lived in Fort Walton for atleast 15yrs.Ive seen the good days(early to late 200's)and now the bad.If you move here,youd better make atleast $10,000 a month.These  More

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I would like to know if Fort Walton Beach is a better place to live rather than busy Clearwater FL. We want to re-locate to a quieter city with all the amenities of a  More

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FWB is great for its beautiful beaches and saltwater fishing. It's also easy to move around town except during rush hour (yes, we have a rush hour - but it literally  More

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