2025 Compare Cities Education:
Santa Cruz, CA vs Independence, MO

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Highlights
- Independence spends 12.9% less per student than Santa Cruz.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 35.0% lower in Independence than in Santa Cruz. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Independence had 5.8% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Santa Cruz
 Santa Cruz, CAIndependence, MOUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,246$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$13,552  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$6,352$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio21.84  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock8814573
 Students per Counselor473  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.7%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.1.9%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock90.2%88.9%
 Some College Educ.19.7%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock8.5%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.56.6%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock5.6%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.9%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.4%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 5 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 Independence    10 Reviews

The ice age sent glaciers sweeping south, ending at what is the edge of the Missouri River. Independence, Missouri, has artesian water straight from this glacial melt  More

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Over 11 years ago

I've lived here pretty much all my life, and I have to say, I'm ready to get out. I'm not sure if the crime here has just skyrocketed over recent years, or if I was just  More

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Over 12 years ago

Independence, Missouri is just like any other fairly large, fairly old town. A city approaching 200 years old and having nearly 120,000 residents is going to have both  More

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