| | Gastonia, NC | Columbia, TN | United States |
| Expend. per Student | $10,935 | $9,801 | $15,905 |
| Educ. Expend. per Student | $9,096 | $9,088 | $13,142 |
| Instr. Expend. per Student | $5,639 | $5,478 | $7,999 |
| Pupil/Teacher Ratio | 15.64 | 15.3 | 16.23 |
| Students per Librarian | 654 | 487 | 4573 |
| Students per Counselor | 313 | 425 | 530 |
| Grade School Educ. | 4.5% | 4.0% | 4.8% |
| Some High School Educ. | 9.3% | 6.2% | 6.3% |
| High School Educ. | 86.2% | 89.8% | 88.9% |
| Some College Educ. | 22.6% | 24.4% | 20.0% |
| 2 yr College Grad. | 11.0% | 10.8% | 8.7% |
| 4 yr College Grad. | 24.9% | 20.8% | 33.7% |
| Masters Grad. | 6.4% | 4.7% | 9.3% |
| Professional Degree | 1.4% | 1.0% | 2.2% |
| Doctorate Degree | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1.5% |