2025 Compare Cities Education:
Santa Monica, CA vs Chicago, IL

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Highlights
- Chicago spends 25.7% more per student than Santa Monica.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 36.1% lower in Chicago than in Santa Monica. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Chicago had 8.5% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Santa Monica
 Santa Monica, CAChicago, ILUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$21,907$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,374  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$11,567$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio21.86  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock14804573
 Students per Counselor380  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock7.0%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.6%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock86.3%88.9%
 Some College Educ.12.4%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock5.7%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.67.8%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock12.2%9.3%
 Professional Degree7.7%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.8%1.5%
Reviews for Santa Monica    24 Reviews

I moved here to Santa Monica over 10 years ago from Oklahoma City. I was surprised to see that Oklahoma City was ranked higher than Santa Monica on best places. I  More

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I've lived in Santa Monica for over 30 years. It's a Mediterranean climate--sunny and temperate when the rest of the country is under snow! I am walking distance to  More

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I have lived in this city for 4 decades, and it is never been worse than it is now. It is a dangerous disgusting hell hole. Between the crime, the homeless that are not  More

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Reviews for Chicago    270 Reviews

I've lived in Chicago city and later moved to suburbs when family size increased. Absolutely love this city. This is the cleanest and most beautiful among the major  More

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Chicago is probably the best value in a major city that you can find and my personal favorite city. It will become increasingly important as climate change makes the  More

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I've live on north side and south side, UIC medical center. Don't move here go to the north side. No good amenities, if you get bored with one there is no other choices.  More

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