2025 Compare Cities Education:
Columbia, SC vs Fort Walton Beach, FL

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Highlights
- Fort Walton Beach spends 42.4% less per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 12.7% higher in Fort Walton Beach than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Fort Walton Beach had 1.5% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, SCFort Walton Beach, FLUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$9,875$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,952  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$5,920$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.36  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock16174573
 Students per Counselor336  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock3.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.7.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock91.8%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.8%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock10.3%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.44.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock8.2%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.5%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.9%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 Fort Walton Beach    10 Reviews

Over 3 years ago

Ive lived in Fort Walton for atleast 15yrs.Ive seen the good days(early to late 200's)and now the bad.If you move here,youd better make atleast $10,000 a month.These  More

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I would like to know if Fort Walton Beach is a better place to live rather than busy Clearwater FL. We want to re-locate to a quieter city with all the amenities of a  More

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FWB is great for its beautiful beaches and saltwater fishing. It's also easy to move around town except during rush hour (yes, we have a rush hour - but it literally  More

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