2025 Compare Cities Education:
Columbia, SC vs Rio Rancho, NM

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Highlights
- Rio Rancho spends 19.1% less per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 1.3% lower in Rio Rancho than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Rio Rancho had 4.2% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, SCRio Rancho, NMUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$13,881$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,952  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$6,119$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.36  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock9434573
 Students per Counselor336  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock1.6%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.7.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock94.3%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.8%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock12.5%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.44.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock9.1%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.5%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock1.3%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 Rio Rancho    21 Reviews

I have lived in the area for the past three years with my husband. Although vastly better than Albuquerque, this is not a safe area. We have had overt and petty crime on  More

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The pros: -Fairly good year-round weather. Sunny days outnumber cloudy days, there are days when the temps fall below freezing and the sun will still be shining. It's  More

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Over 5 years ago

Affordable housing, low crime (compared to Albuquerque), awesome weather with all 4 seasons, beautiful environment and some pretty awesome people. I love Rio Rancho,  More

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