2025 Compare Cities Education:
Santa Maria, CA vs Monterey, CA

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Highlights
- Monterey spends 8.0% less per student than Santa Maria.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 3.4% higher in Monterey than in Santa Maria. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Monterey had 50.9% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Santa Maria
 Santa Maria, CAMonterey, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$15,375$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$13,158  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,645$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio21.01  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock289524573
 Students per Counselor539  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.7%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.10.0%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock93.8%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.4%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock8.8%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.13.6%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock18.4%9.3%
 Professional Degree0.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock3.3%1.5%
Reviews for Santa Maria    12 Reviews

Over 6 years ago

I live in Orcutt which is a town of around 35,000 on the south side of Santa Maria. Santa Maria has, as everyone has noted, the best climate in the world. It never  More

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I have lived in Santa Maria / Orcutt for several years, but it is time to leave. I have no issues with the weather. Our climate is mild and comfortable with no extremes.  More

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The weather is very mild without a huge temperature change with the seasons. The winters are chilly but not cold and the summers are warm but not hot. Of course there  More

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Reviews for Monterey    21 Reviews

Over 8 years ago

The Monterey city area is an excellent place to live and one of the few California locales where it's relatively safe to raise a family. If I could no longer live here I  More

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I grew up on the Monterey Peninsula and had to leave to climb out of poverty. The median income is $35,000 and outside of the military, the jobs are mostly service  More

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My husband and I are just crazy about Monterey. I wonder if we take housing expenses (mortgage or rent) out of the picture, is Monterey still a very expensive city to  More

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