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

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Highlights
- San Mateo spends 22.8% more per student than Santa Cruz.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 9.4% lower in San Mateo than in Santa Cruz. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- San Mateo had 4.0% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Santa Cruz
 Santa Cruz, CASan Mateo, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$20,087$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$13,552  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$9,271$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio21.84  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock80554573
 Students per Counselor473  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock4.9%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.1.9%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock91.9%88.9%
 Some College Educ.19.7%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock6.4%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.56.6%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock18.1%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.9%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock4.1%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 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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