2026 Compare Cities Education:
Gainesville, FL vs Columbia, MD

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Highlights
- Columbia spends 54.8% more per student than Gainesville.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 26.0% lower in Columbia than in Gainesville. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Columbia had 2.0% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Gainesville
 Gainesville, FLColumbia, MDUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$17,912$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$10,094  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$11,381$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio18.19  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock3634573
 Students per Counselor501  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.8%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.4.0%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock95.2%88.9%
 Some College Educ.15.8%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock5.7%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.49.0%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock23.4%9.3%
 Professional Degree3.8%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock5.7%1.5%
Reviews for Gainesville    60 Reviews

Over 4 years ago

I've lived here most of my life. It's changed a lot, and a lot of the locals don't like it. Because it's home to one of the largest universities in the country, we see a  More

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Lovely diverse city! People is nice and there is always something to do. Outdoors activities are awesome! The springs are beautiful and there are plenty of hiking  More

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Gainesville has the highest taxes and electrical rates in the state. The city is run by a bunch of liberals who have no idea what they are doing. Crime and homelessness  More

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Reviews for Columbia    28 Reviews

Over 6 years ago

Lived here for a while, beautiful opportunities, pays well, overall nice  More

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Been here 30 years was great at first but once they added a transit bus from baltimore to columbia 15-18 years ago that was the beginning of the end. And about 5 years  More

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Columbia can be described in one word: unequal. The neighborhood I live in, River Hill, is jam-packed with almost million-dollar homes, while the neighborhoods of Long  More

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