| | West Des Moines, IA | Alliance, NE | United States |
| Expend. per Student | $14,293 | $14,193 | $15,905 |
| Educ. Expend. per Student | $11,894 | $12,239 | $13,142 |
| Instr. Expend. per Student | $7,373 | $7,596 | $7,999 |
| Pupil/Teacher Ratio | 15.53 | 13.8 | 16.23 |
| Students per Librarian | 799 | 299 | 4573 |
| Students per Counselor | 362 | 292 | 530 |
| Grade School Educ. | 1.3% | 4.5% | 4.8% |
| Some High School Educ. | 2.1% | 5.4% | 6.3% |
| High School Educ. | 96.6% | 90.1% | 88.9% |
| Some College Educ. | 17.1% | 29.2% | 20.0% |
| 2 yr College Grad. | 9.6% | 9.7% | 8.7% |
| 4 yr College Grad. | 53.7% | 19.6% | 33.7% |
| Masters Grad. | 13.3% | 2.9% | 9.3% |
| Professional Degree | 4.1% | 0.4% | 2.2% |
| Doctorate Degree | 1.6% | 0.0% | 1.5% |