2025 Compare Cities Education:
Columbia, MD vs Reading, PA

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Highlights
- Reading spends 0.5% more per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 9.0% higher in Reading than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Reading had 24.9% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, MDReading, PAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$18,007$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$16,615  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$9,438$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio13.46  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock4244573
 Students per Counselor331  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock13.1%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.0%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock71.5%88.9%
 Some College Educ.14.0%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.0%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.62.8%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock3.1%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.4%1.5%
Reviews for Columbia    28 Reviews

Over 5 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 Reading    15 Reviews

Over 10 years ago

Having lived in Reading in the 1960's and early 1970's I can definitely say the city has gone downhill as it has in reality been a victim of two major forces; first  More

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Over 11 years ago

Berks County is beautiful in the fall. Cool, crisp air and the trees are a pallet of  More

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Over 12 years ago

Well to start, in the past 8 years ive lived in 7 states, some pros and cons. Tucson I loved in all respects except its not as nice as living in a small town but it  More

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