2026 Compare Cities Education:
Columbia, MD vs Chattanooga, TN

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Highlights
- Chattanooga spends 37.0% less per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 11.1% higher in Chattanooga than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Chattanooga had 6.5% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, MDChattanooga, TNUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$11,280$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$16,615  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$6,730$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio13.46  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock6554573
 Students per Counselor331  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock4.0%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.0%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock89.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.14.0%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock8.4%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.62.8%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock8.3%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.4%1.5%
Reviews for Columbia    28 Reviews

Over 6 years ago

Lived here for a while, beautiful opportunities, pays well, overall nice  More

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Been here 30 years was great at first but once they added a transit bus from baltimore to columbia 15-18 years ago that was the beginning of the end. And about 5 years  More

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Columbia can be described in one word: unequal. The neighborhood I live in, River Hill, is jam-packed with almost million-dollar homes, while the neighborhoods of Long  More

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Reviews for Chattanooga    60 Reviews

Over 5 years ago

Moved to Chattanooga from the San Francisco Bay area. It was a hard one but after losing much in the 2017, 2018, 2019 annual wildfire festival of California I got tired  More

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I feel like the crime in Chattanooga gets glossed over in most reviews. Lived here virtually my entire life and I will truly miss the golden sunrises against the  More

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I live in nearby Cleveland TN where I have lived for 20 years. I like to shop and visit Chattanooga as there is a lot to do but they do have a very high crime rate.   More

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