2025 Compare Cities Education:
Columbia, SC vs Decatur, AL

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Highlights
- Decatur spends 29.7% less per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 15.9% higher in Decatur than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Decatur had 7.5% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, SCDecatur, ALUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$12,058$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,952  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$6,441$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.36  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock4794573
 Students per Counselor336  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock7.1%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.7.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock83.7%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.8%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock8.9%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.44.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock5.3%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.5%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.8%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 Decatur    12 Reviews

Over 4 years ago

I moved to Decatur from Huntsville about 6 months ago. I love it! Traffic is mostly light, even at rush hour. You have enough shopping amenities here you rarely have to  More

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Over 4 years ago

I moved to Decatur three months ago from Huntsville and I am very satisfied with the city. Decatur boasts many amenities: on the river, surrounded on two sides by  More

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Over 6 years ago

I moved to Decatur from Huntsville a little over a year ago. I'm just not a big fan for a few reasons. #1 Brownsferry Nuclear Power Plant is exactly 10.43 miles from my  More

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