2026 Compare Cities Education:
Columbia, MO vs Paducah, KY

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Highlights
- Paducah spends 1.8% less per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 22.8% higher in Paducah than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Paducah had 4.8% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, MOPaducah, KYUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$13,985$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$11,303  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$6,308$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio12.79  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock6214573
 Students per Counselor260  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock3.0%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.5%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock90.9%88.9%
 Some College Educ.17.6%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock8.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.53.8%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock7.0%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.6%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.5%1.5%
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 5 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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Reviews for Paducah    16 Reviews

Joel · 

I have visited it the 1st time and thought it was a rundown ghetto but the 2nd time I loved  More

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Over 6 years ago

The downtown area is fun and the murals on the floodwall provide an interesting history of the  More

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Over 12 years ago

Move here six years ago, and was very optimistic. I love meeting new people and adventure. Me my husband and two kids moved here from Louisville are. This place is like  More

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