2026 Compare Cities Education:
Columbia, SC vs Oak Ridge, TN

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Highlights
- Oak Ridge spends 28.3% less per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 10.2% lower in Oak Ridge than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Oak Ridge had 2.3% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, SCOak Ridge, TNUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$12,296$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,952  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$6,469$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.36  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock6044573
 Students per Counselor336  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.5%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.7.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock92.5%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.8%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock8.6%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.44.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock10.6%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.5%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock5.8%1.5%
Reviews for Columbia    50 Reviews

Over 3 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 Oak Ridge    8 Reviews

Overall it's on the positive side. It's pretty boring but it can feel like a real home at times. It could stand to be a hair closer to Western Knoxville.. Melton lake  More

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Over 6 years ago

Oak Ridge is located in beautiful East TN, has excellent public schools, is very safe for families, and is only 15-30 min away from Knoxville.  More

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Marginal, at best. Lack of social and business skills to perform anything but menial tasks. No clue about customer service, business etiquette or basic business  More

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