| | Gastonia, NC | Columbia, MD | United States |
| Expend. per Student | $10,935 | $17,912 | $15,905 |
| Educ. Expend. per Student | $9,096 | $16,615 | $13,142 |
| Instr. Expend. per Student | $5,639 | $11,381 | $7,999 |
| Pupil/Teacher Ratio | 15.64 | 13.46 | 16.23 |
| Students per Librarian | 654 | 363 | 4573 |
| Students per Counselor | 313 | 331 | 530 |
| Grade School Educ. | 4.5% | 2.8% | 4.8% |
| Some High School Educ. | 9.3% | 2.0% | 6.3% |
| High School Educ. | 86.2% | 95.2% | 88.9% |
| Some College Educ. | 22.6% | 14.0% | 20.0% |
| 2 yr College Grad. | 11.0% | 5.7% | 8.7% |
| 4 yr College Grad. | 24.9% | 62.8% | 33.7% |
| Masters Grad. | 6.4% | 23.4% | 9.3% |
| Professional Degree | 1.4% | 4.8% | 2.2% |
| Doctorate Degree | 0.6% | 5.7% | 1.5% |