2025 Compare Cities Education:
Santa Barbara, CA vs Columbia, SC

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Highlights
- Columbia spends 2.7% more per student than Santa Barbara.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 26.9% lower in Columbia than in Santa Barbara. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Columbia had 2.8% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Santa Barbara
 Santa Barbara, CAColumbia, SCUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$17,157$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$13,158  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$9,360$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio21.01  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock5744573
 Students per Counselor539  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.4.9%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock90.5%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.5%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.7%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.50.5%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock11.7%9.3%
 Professional Degree4.6%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock3.3%1.5%
Reviews for Santa Barbara    51 Reviews

I moved to Santa Barbara around 23 years ago to study at Brooks, which like most of the Santa Barbara that I knew—has been destroyed. Homelessness, drugs, gangs, high  More

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Over 4 years ago

I fell in love with Santa Barbara about thirty years ago and finally moved here a few years ago. Because of the price of homes, it is an expensive place to live. The  More

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If you like high crime, paying a $4,500 a month mortgage and crazy high taxes, this is the place for you. It’s too bad because it wasn’t always like this. When I moved  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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