2025 Compare Cities Education:
Chicago, IL vs Columbia, MO

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Highlights
- Columbia spends 35.0% less per student than Chicago.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 8.4% lower in Columbia than in Chicago. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Columbia had 10.6% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Chicago
 Chicago, ILColumbia, MOUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,237$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$18,508  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$6,199$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio13.97  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock4524573
 Students per Counselor481  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.0%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.6.8%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock95.5%88.9%
 Some College Educ.17.0%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock6.6%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.41.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock15.5%9.3%
 Professional Degree3.6%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock5.3%1.5%
Reviews for Chicago    270 Reviews

I've lived in Chicago city and later moved to suburbs when family size increased. Absolutely love this city. This is the cleanest and most beautiful among the major  More

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Chicago is probably the best value in a major city that you can find and my personal favorite city. It will become increasingly important as climate change makes the  More

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I've live on north side and south side, UIC medical center. Don't move here go to the north side. No good amenities, if you get bored with one there is no other choices.  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 4 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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