2025 Compare Cities Education:
Philadelphia, PA vs Columbia, SC

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Highlights
- Columbia spends 33.6% less per student than Philadelphia.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 2.1% higher in Columbia than in Philadelphia. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Columbia had 4.5% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Philadelphia
 Philadelphia, PAColumbia, SCUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$17,157$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$14,192  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$9,360$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio15.04  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock5744573
 Students per Counselor408  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.8.4%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock90.5%88.9%
 Some College Educ.16.7%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.7%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.32.5%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock11.7%9.3%
 Professional Degree3.0%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock3.3%1.5%
Reviews for Philadelphia    139 Reviews

Philadelphia is a very walkable and fun city to explore (albeit be aware of where not to explore at least at night). The city has beautiful old architecture , great  More

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I’m originally from New York City, then lived in a small city in upstate New York for eight years, then moved down to Philadelphia and have lived here for many years.  More

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Now the only reason some people disagree is because MONEY. If you live in “manayunk” (which I lived for 2 years) you can’t compare … you can’t compare your out skirt  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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