2026 Compare Cities Education:
Lakeland, FL vs Columbia, SC

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Highlights
- Columbia spends 56.2% more per student than Lakeland.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 13.7% lower in Columbia than in Lakeland. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Columbia had 0.7% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Lakeland
 Lakeland, FLColumbia, SCUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$17,157$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$9,977  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$9,360$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio17.8  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock5744573
 Students per Counselor436  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.6.9%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock90.5%88.9%
 Some College Educ.20.7%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.7%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.26.9%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock11.7%9.3%
 Professional Degree1.7%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock3.3%1.5%
Reviews for Lakeland    27 Reviews

Over 5 years ago

I used to live in Lakeland, It is hot, humid, crowded and getting more crowded, Most of the people are rude and unfriendly. I was born in the area and visit sometimes to  More

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Over 5 years ago

been there a few times i love it and i a m planning to ove this  More

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Over 8 years ago

Perhas if one is from this area, it is different I don't know. It is so dull and seems comfortable being so. There isn't much of a variety of people here, which I   More

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Reviews for Columbia    50 Reviews

Over 3 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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