2025 Compare Cities Education:
Tuscaloosa, AL vs Columbia, SC

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Highlights
- Columbia spends 44.8% more per student than Tuscaloosa.
- The Student Teacher Ratio is 20.2% lower in Columbia than in Tuscaloosa. (lower means fewer students in each classroom).
- Columbia had 0.4% more residents who had graduated High School compared to Tuscaloosa
 Tuscaloosa, ALColumbia, SCUnited States
 Expend. per Student  Unlock$17,157$15,905
 Educ. Expend. per Student$9,927  Unlock$13,142
 Instr. Expend. per Student  Unlock$9,360$7,999
 Pupil/Teacher Ratio19.24  Unlock16.23
 Students per Librarian  Unlock5744573
 Students per Counselor396  Unlock530
 Grade School Educ.  Unlock2.2%4.8%
 Some High School Educ.7.1%  Unlock6.3%
 High School Educ.  Unlock90.5%88.9%
 Some College Educ.18.6%  Unlock20.0%
 2 yr College Grad.  Unlock7.7%8.7%
 4 yr College Grad.37.6%  Unlock33.7%
 Masters Grad.  Unlock11.7%9.3%
 Professional Degree2.1%  Unlock2.2%
 Doctorate Degree  Unlock3.3%1.5%
Reviews for Tuscaloosa    9 Reviews

This is the deal with Tuscaloosa. If you have strong family support that will keep you on track, you may be okay. Alabama has too many broken, uneducated, poor  More

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We've lived in Tuscaloosa for several years now. It's a diverse, friendly college town -- home of the University of Alabama and it's lovely campus -- that is relatively  More

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Tuscaloosa used to have some character. We had a decent live music scene, an up and coming artist community, affordable housing, and there were even several places for  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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