2025 Compare Cities Education:
Columbia, SC vs Merced, CA

Change Cities
Highlights
- Merced spends 16.5% less per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 44.5% higher in Merced than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Merced had 17.9% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, SCMerced, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$14,332$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,952  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,391$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.36  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock61024573
 Students per Counselor336  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock14.1%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.7.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock74.3%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.8%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock9.4%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.44.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock4.0%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

   |    Reply

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

   |    Reply

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

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Columbia

Reviews for Merced    44 Reviews

Merced is totally slept on - you want a little bit of everything CA has to offer, at a fraction of the price of other CA cities? Merced is the place to go. The town  More

   |    Reply

Over 5 years ago

Good place to live. More affordable than most of california. The city is growing and there is alot of business and growth here. Moved from the Bay area years ago and  More

   |    Reply

Great place to live. Lots of progress and changes coming to the city. Great place to raise a family. UC Merced is expanding and businesses are investing. Downtown is  More

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Merced


Premium Subscription
Includes Cost of Living compares for child care, utilities, transportation, health, taxes, housing for home owners vs renters, weather, insurance premiums and so much more.


The premier source for comprehensive city data for over 30 years.

© Best Places. All rights reserved.