2026 Compare Cities Education:
La Plata, MD vs Columbia, MD

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Highlights
- Columbia spends 1.6% more per student than La Plata.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 9.6% lower in Columbia than in La Plata. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Columbia had 4.7% more residents who had graduated High School compared to La Plata
 La Plata, MDColumbia, MDUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$17,912$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$15,280  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$11,381$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio14.89  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock3634573
 Students per Counselor320  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.8%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.2.9%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock95.2%88.9%
 Some College Educ.26.4%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock5.7%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.33.5%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock23.4%9.3%
 Professional Degree1.1%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock5.7%1.5%
Reviews for La Plata    7 Reviews

Over 13 years ago

Nice little town, but very expensive to live here, especially if one is retired on a fixed  More

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We have lived here for several years now. The schools are good and the teachers have been excellent. There are also several good private schools available. The people  More

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Terrible traffic, runaway growth, fast sliding into a  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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