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2025 Compare Cities Education:
Santa Cruz, CA vs Palo Alto, CA

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Highlights
- Palo Alto spends 12.4% more per student than Santa Cruz.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 1.1% lower in Palo Alto than in Santa Cruz. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Palo Alto had 1.4% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Santa Cruz
 Santa Cruz, CAPalo Alto, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$18,401$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$13,552  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$8,804$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio21.84  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock65284573
 Students per Counselor473  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock1.8%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.1.9%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock97.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.19.7%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock3.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.56.6%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock30.3%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.9%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock16.0%1.5%
Economy
Reviews for Santa Cruz    44 Reviews
NC · Boise City, ID
Some love it, others not so much
Over 5 years ago

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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Kimberly · Santa Cruz, CA
Small Town, Big City
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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Holly · Live Oak, CA
Santa Cruz is my Heart Home in so many ways
Over 6 years ago

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 Palo Alto    8 Reviews
David · Palo Alto, CA
Wonderful place to live, except for the cost of li
Over 16 years ago

The Bay Area in general, but Palo Alto specifically provides many of the qualities sought by many; the climate is beautiful, there is access to cultural and recreational  More

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David · Menlo Park, CA
Cost of Living
Over 17 years ago

Very  More

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Lawrence · Palo Alto, CA
Public transit
Over 18 years ago

VTA and SamsTrans and Caltrain all provide good service and most times frequency of service is  More

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Learn More About Santa Cruz, California
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