2025 Compare Cities Education:
Decatur, IL vs Columbia, SC

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Highlights
- Columbia spends 18.7% more per student than Decatur.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 2.9% lower in Columbia than in Decatur. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Columbia had 0.5% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Decatur
 Decatur, ILColumbia, SCUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$17,157$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$12,532  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$9,360$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.82  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock5744573
 Students per Counselor771  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.7.4%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock90.5%88.9%
 Some College Educ.23.9%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.7%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.21.1%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock11.7%9.3%
 Professional Degree0.9%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock3.3%1.5%
Reviews for Decatur    14 Reviews

I was sent here by the company I worked for in the '90's and was not initially impressed with midwest living. However, over the years I got used to living in the "Pride  More

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I grew up in Decatur and I still have family there, but it depresses me to see what it has become. It has a high unemployment rate, many business have closed or are run  More

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Over 14 years ago

If you enjoy drinking & driving, Decatur's fifteen drive-thru liquor windows, three times the # of drive-thru's than the ten largest cities in Illinois, COMBINED, will  More

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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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