2026 Compare Cities Education:
West Des Moines, IA vs Northfield, MN

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Highlights
- Northfield spends 40.0% more per student than West Des Moines.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 2.4% lower in Northfield than in West Des Moines. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Northfield had 0.2% more residents who had graduated High School compared to West Des Moines
 West Des Moines, IANorthfield, MNUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$20,007$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,894  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$9,138$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.53  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock9104573
 Students per Counselor362  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock1.0%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.1%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock96.8%88.9%
 Some College Educ.17.1%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.5%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.53.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock16.0%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.1%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock5.8%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 Northfield    5 Reviews

The city has nothing really to offer but high taxes and bad streets and sidewalks. Winter is really bad as the city sidewalks are barely passable. You usually can not  More

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For a town of 20 thousand, the amount of cars on the road at any given time is absolutely insane. Residents will tell you it's no secret that the drivers here are  More

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I've lived in Northfield for almost 14 years now, owning my own home here the entire time. I'm originally from the Twin Cities, and moved to Northfield after several  More

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