2026 Compare Cities Education:
Santa Maria, CA vs Sterling Heights, MI

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Highlights
- Sterling Heights spends 19.5% less per student than Santa Maria.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 16.0% lower in Sterling Heights than in Santa Maria. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Sterling Heights had 40.0% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Santa Maria
 Santa Maria, CASterling Heights, MIUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$13,444$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$13,158  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$6,894$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio21.01  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock10204573
 Students per Counselor539  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock6.9%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.10.0%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock87.1%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.4%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.6%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.13.6%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock7.9%9.3%
 Professional Degree0.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.9%1.5%
Reviews for Santa Maria    12 Reviews

Over 7 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 Sterling Heights    10 Reviews

Over 17 years ago

Sterling Heights is a beautiful spread out city north of Detroit, but if you want to go anywhere you will need to provide your own  More

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Appears controversial toward its punishment of Afro-American students who get in trouble at school in Sterling Heights. They seem more eager to enforce the zero  More

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Over 18 years ago

I like Sterling Heights, but overall MI needs a makeover. We're moving away as soon as we  More

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