2025 Compare Cities Education:
Columbia, SC vs Des Moines, IA

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Highlights
- Des Moines spends 16.7% less per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 1.1% higher in Des Moines than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Des Moines had 3.7% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, SCDes Moines, IAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,293$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,952  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,373$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.36  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock7994573
 Students per Counselor336  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock6.5%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.7.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock87.1%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.8%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.44.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock6.2%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 Des Moines    53 Reviews

Des Moines is a ok and pretty quiet place but as a teen it could be dramatic because Des Moines do have is fair or violents places to avoid in Des Moines would be the  More

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Dude · 
Over 5 years ago

This city is violent, there are too many gangs especially on the north  More

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Over 6 years ago

Good for the old that like slow pace and cheap buffets. Also good for non-descript mid-westerners that don't like a lot of action. No nightlife or mountains to hike  More

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