2026 Compare Cities Education:
Columbia, SC vs Arlington, WA

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Highlights
- Arlington spends 3.3% more per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 23.1% higher in Arlington than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Arlington had 0.3% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, SCArlington, WAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$17,718$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,952  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$9,118$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.36  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock15644573
 Students per Counselor336  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.4%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.7.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock90.7%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.8%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock11.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.44.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock6.3%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.5%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.4%1.5%
Reviews for Columbia    50 Reviews

Over 3 years ago

I love living in Columbia! I recently graduated from USC and plan to stay. I read the reviews posted here and it shows that like many cities, your experience will depend  More

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Loved living in Columbia, SC prior to my job transfer. It's the perfect size - plenty to do, but still a laid back place. People are extremely friendly, there are  More

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Columbia is such a unique and underrated place. It has a lot of character and history, and good nature trails. Everything feels accessible (by car) and you can get from  More

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Reviews for Arlington    4 Reviews

Over 9 years ago

Arlington is a nice area, however the property taxes are very high. We built a home here in 2015 . The home is similar to the one we lived in in Arlington's "twin" city  More

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Arlington is north of Seattle. Like the entire Greater Seattle area, the quality of life is easy going. The weather is generally gentle all year long. A little snow in  More

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Over 17 years ago

We live on the West side of I-5, area known as Smokey Point/Lakewood/7 Lakes. As do several other family members. The area still has a very rural feeling without driving  More

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