2025 Compare Cities Education:
Columbia, SC vs Costa Mesa, CA

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Highlights
- Costa Mesa spends 11.0% less per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 51.1% higher in Costa Mesa than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Costa Mesa had 3.2% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, SCCosta Mesa, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$15,277$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,952  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$8,037$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.36  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock163834573
 Students per Counselor336  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock6.1%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.7.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock87.6%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.8%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.4%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.44.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock8.9%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.5%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.1%1.5%
Reviews for Columbia    50 Reviews

Over 2 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 Costa Mesa    8 Reviews

Over 15 years ago

Costa mesa has awesome shopping but is way too crowded and I have had 3 cars stolen in the past 5 years along with countless break-ins and theft. Expensive. Close to  More

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Over 16 years ago

Costa Mesa has a near perfect climate . . . plenty of sun but rarely over 100 degrees (our house doesn't even have AC). Nestled between Newport Beach and Huntington  More

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We have a good amount of low-income, medium-income, and relatively high-income  More

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