| | West Des Moines, IA | Washington, DC | United States |
| Expend. per Student | $14,293 | $30,279 | $15,905 |
| Educ. Expend. per Student | $11,894 | $23,069 | $13,142 |
| Instr. Expend. per Student | $7,373 | $11,354 | $7,999 |
| Pupil/Teacher Ratio | 15.53 | 11.65 | 16.23 |
| Students per Librarian | 799 | 796 | 4573 |
| Students per Counselor | 362 | 445 | 530 |
| Grade School Educ. | 1.3% | 3.2% | 4.8% |
| Some High School Educ. | 2.1% | 4.5% | 6.3% |
| High School Educ. | 96.6% | 92.2% | 88.9% |
| Some College Educ. | 17.1% | 12.4% | 20.0% |
| 2 yr College Grad. | 9.6% | 3.0% | 8.7% |
| 4 yr College Grad. | 53.7% | 61.4% | 33.7% |
| Masters Grad. | 13.3% | 21.9% | 9.3% |
| Professional Degree | 4.1% | 9.7% | 2.2% |
| Doctorate Degree | 1.6% | 4.3% | 1.5% |