2025 Compare Cities Education:
Tacoma, WA vs West Des Moines, IA

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Highlights
- West Des Moines spends 22.2% less per student than Tacoma.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 16.9% lower in West Des Moines than in Tacoma. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- West Des Moines had 7.1% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Tacoma
 Tacoma, WAWest Des Moines, IAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,293$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,056  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,373$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio18.68  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock7994573
 Students per Counselor441  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock1.3%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.5.7%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock96.6%88.9%
 Some College Educ.23.3%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.6%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.31.3%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock13.3%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.3%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.6%1.5%
Reviews for Tacoma    40 Reviews

I've lived in Tacoma for 3.5 years and love it! It's not a perfect city, nowhere is perfect and Tacoma does have its' share of problems, but overall have found T-Town  More

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Over 4 years ago

We LOVE tacoma. Grew up in Seattle, and tacoma is so much better! Easy access to the water, hiking, and Mt Rainier and the Olympics. We love the coffee shops and  More

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Over 5 years ago

Having lived over half my life here I can tell you real friends are few and far between. You will go through many and only have a handful who stick with you. Your  More

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Reviews for West Des Moines    4 Reviews

Over 16 years ago

I just moved here from out-of-state a few months ago and have been pleasantly surprised by the broad range of activities and amenities available in this medium sized IA  More

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Over 16 years ago

Am contemplating a move to WDM from the East Coast (NYC). Might there be anyone out there that may have experienced this and could offer guidance or comment. Thanks.   More

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We just moved to West Des Moines and we love it here! We moved here three months ago and every weekend we have been able to do something different and fun. There is  More

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