2025 Compare Cities Education:
West Des Moines, IA vs Decatur, IL

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Highlights
- Decatur spends 1.2% more per student than West Des Moines.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 1.9% higher in Decatur than in West Des Moines. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Decatur had 6.9% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to West Des Moines
 West Des Moines, IADecatur, ILUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,460$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,894  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$6,704$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.53  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock37214573
 Students per Counselor362  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.6%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.1%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock90.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.17.1%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.6%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.53.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock5.9%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.1%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.8%1.5%
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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Reviews for Decatur    14 Reviews

I was sent here by the company I worked for in the '90's and was not initially impressed with midwest living. However, over the years I got used to living in the "Pride  More

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I grew up in Decatur and I still have family there, but it depresses me to see what it has become. It has a high unemployment rate, many business have closed or are run  More

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Over 14 years ago

If you enjoy drinking & driving, Decatur's fifteen drive-thru liquor windows, three times the # of drive-thru's than the ten largest cities in Illinois, COMBINED, will  More

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