2025 Compare Cities Education:
Tuscaloosa, AL vs West Des Moines, IA

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Highlights
- West Des Moines spends 20.7% more per student than Tuscaloosa.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 19.3% lower in West Des Moines than in Tuscaloosa. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- West Des Moines had 7.3% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Tuscaloosa
 Tuscaloosa, ALWest Des Moines, IAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,293$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$9,927  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,373$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio19.24  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock7994573
 Students per Counselor396  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock1.3%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.7.1%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock96.6%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.6%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.6%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.37.6%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock13.3%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.1%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.6%1.5%
Reviews for Tuscaloosa    9 Reviews

This is the deal with Tuscaloosa. If you have strong family support that will keep you on track, you may be okay. Alabama has too many broken, uneducated, poor  More

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We've lived in Tuscaloosa for several years now. It's a diverse, friendly college town -- home of the University of Alabama and it's lovely campus -- that is relatively  More

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Tuscaloosa used to have some character. We had a decent live music scene, an up and coming artist community, affordable housing, and there were even several places for  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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