2026 Compare Cities Education:
West Des Moines, IA vs Columbia, MO

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Highlights
- Columbia spends 0.4% less per student than West Des Moines.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 17.6% lower in Columbia than in West Des Moines. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Columbia had 1.2% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to West Des Moines
 West Des Moines, IAColumbia, MOUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,237$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,894  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$6,199$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.53  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock4524573
 Students per Counselor362  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.0%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.1%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock95.5%88.9%
 Some College Educ.17.1%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock6.6%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.53.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock15.5%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.1%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock5.3%1.5%
Reviews for West Des Moines    4 Reviews

Over 17 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 17 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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Reviews for Columbia    41 Reviews

If you are an active person and love to be outdoors and go to college sporting events, Columbia is a great place to live! I run and bike and go to Mizzou events a lot. I  More

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Over 5 years ago

I've live in CoMo for 20 yrs. NOT sure about this state of the art water park??!! There are great parks but nothing else for families. NO zoo, museum, and definitely no  More

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I lived there for a year and hated every minute. Columbia reminded me of the San Francisco of the Midwest. It is overrun with homeless people. Law enforcement is  More

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