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

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Highlights
- Santa Maria spends 2.6% less per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 36.8% higher in Santa Maria than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Santa Maria had 31.2% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, SCSanta Maria, 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.  Unlock27.8%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.7.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock62.2%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.  Unlock2.8%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.5%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.3%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 Santa Maria    12 Reviews

Over 6 years ago

I live in Orcutt which is a town of around 35,000 on the south side of Santa Maria. Santa Maria has, as everyone has noted, the best climate in the world. It never  More

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I have lived in Santa Maria / Orcutt for several years, but it is time to leave. I have no issues with the weather. Our climate is mild and comfortable with no extremes.  More

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The weather is very mild without a huge temperature change with the seasons. The winters are chilly but not cold and the summers are warm but not hot. Of course there  More

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