2025 Compare Cities Education:
Columbia, SC vs Santa Barbara, CA

Change Cities
Highlights
- Santa Barbara spends 2.6% less per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 36.8% higher in Santa Barbara than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Santa Barbara had 2.8% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, SCSanta Barbara, CAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$16,705$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,952  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,862$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.36  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock123874573
 Students per Counselor336  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock7.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.7.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock88.0%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.8%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.44.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock12.6%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.5%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock3.5%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 Santa Barbara    51 Reviews

I moved to Santa Barbara around 23 years ago to study at Brooks, which like most of the Santa Barbara that I knew—has been destroyed. Homelessness, drugs, gangs, high  More

   |    Reply

Over 4 years ago

I fell in love with Santa Barbara about thirty years ago and finally moved here a few years ago. Because of the price of homes, it is an expensive place to live. The  More

   |    Reply

If you like high crime, paying a $4,500 a month mortgage and crazy high taxes, this is the place for you. It’s too bad because it wasn’t always like this. When I moved  More

   |    Reply

Start Your Review of Santa Barbara


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.