2025 Compare Cities Education:
Columbia, SC vs Waterloo, IA

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Highlights
- Waterloo spends 20.8% less per student than Columbia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 8.9% lower in Waterloo than in Columbia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Waterloo had 1.2% fewer residents who had graduated High School compared to Columbia
 Columbia, SCWaterloo, IAUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$13,594$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,952  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$7,498$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.36  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock6944573
 Students per Counselor336  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock4.6%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.7.3%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock89.4%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.8%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock10.2%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.44.7%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock4.7%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.5%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock0.9%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 Waterloo    5 Reviews

The bike racks recently installed on the MET buses was a great idea for a community that has numerous bike riders and  More

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Over 17 years ago

Unless you're into getting wasted on a regular basis there's not a lot to do here. Most people barhop for fun. Being someone who doesn't drink and doesn't enjoy being  More

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Over 17 years ago

So the weather is emotional here - on and off during the summer its hot and rainy, yet during the fall it is quite often beautiful. Winters can be long, and spring can  More

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