Best Elementary Schools in the Columbia, SC Area

Are you looking for information on the top public elementary schools in the Columbia area? Below you'll find rankings on some of the best Columbia-area elementary schools including Brockman Elementary School, Midway Elementary School, Ballentine Elementary School, and Lake Murray Elementary School. We also have data to help you compare such top traditional public elementary schools to the area's best charter schools including East Point Academy, SC Virtual Charter School, SC Connections Academy, and Midlands STEM Institute.

The list below is not meant be used as a definitive guide to which Columbia-area elementary school would be best for any individual child. For schools that are close to one another in rankings, differences in available data are in most cases very small.

Top Elementary Schools in the Columbia Area

Rank	School Name	City	School Type	Grades Served
1	Muller Road Middle School	Blythewood, SC	Regular	K-8
2	E L Wright Middle School	Columbia, SC	Regular	K-8
3	Brockman Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
4	Midway Elementary School	Lexington, SC	Regular	K-5
5	Ballentine Elementary School	Irmo, SC	Regular	PK-5
6	Lake Murray Elementary School	Chapin, SC	Regular	PK-4
7	Chapin Intermediate School	Chapin, SC	Regular	5-6
8	New Providence Elementary School	Lexington, SC	Regular	K-5
9	Lake Murray Elementary School	Lexington, SC	Regular	PK-5
10	Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus	Blythewood, SC	Regular	3-5
11	Summit Parkway Middle School	Columbia, SC	Regular	K-8
12	Rosewood Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	K-5
13	Oak Pointe Elementary School	Irmo, SC	Regular	PK-5
14	Round Top Elementary School	Blythewood, SC	Regular	PK-5
15	Pleasant Hill Elementary School	Lexington, SC	Regular	PK-5
16	Satchel Ford Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	K-5
17	Brennen Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	K-5
18	River Springs Elementary School	Irmo, SC	Regular	PK-5
19	East Point Academy	West Columbia, SC	Charter	PK-8
20	Rocky Creek Elementary School	Lexington, SC	Regular	PK-5
21	Irmo Elementary School	Irmo, SC	Regular	PK-5
22	Bethel-Hanberry Elementary School	Blythewood, SC	Regular	PK-5
23	Chapin Elementary School	Chapin, SC	Regular	PK-4
24	Bookman Road Elementary School	Elgin, SC	Regular	PK-5
25	Harbison West Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
26	Mount Pisgah Elementary School	Kershaw, SC	Regular	PK-5
27	Oak Grove Elementary School	Lexington, SC	Regular	PK-5
28	Langford Elementary School	Blythewood, SC	Regular	PK-5
29	Meadow Glen Elementary School	Lexington, SC	Regular	K-5
30	Deerfield Elementary School	Lexington, SC	Regular	PK-5
31	Nursery Road Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
32	Saxe Gotha Elementary School	Lexington, SC	Regular	PK-5
33	Lugoff Elementary School	Lugoff, SC	Regular	K-5
34	Camden Elementary of the Creative Arts	Camden, SC	Regular	PK-5
35	Catawba Trail Elementary School	Elgin, SC	Regular	PK-5
36	Carolina Springs Elementary School	Lexington, SC	Regular	PK-5
37	H E Corley Elementary School	Irmo, SC	Regular	PK-5
38	Lexington Elementary School	Lexington, SC	Regular	PK-5
39	Springdale Elementary School	West Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
40	Fairfield Magnet for Math and Science	Winnsboro, SC	Regular	PK-6
41	Rice Creek Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
42	Dobys Mill Elementary School	Lugoff, SC	Regular	PK-5
43	White Knoll Elementary School	West Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
44	Polo Road Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
45	Hollywood Elementary School	Saluda, SC	Regular	PK-5
46	Wateree Elementary School	Lugoff, SC	Regular	PK-5
47	Pontiac Elementary School	Elgin, SC	Regular	PK-5
48	North Springs Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
49	Leaphart Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
50	Gilbert Elementary School	Gilbert, SC	Regular	3-5
51	Baron Dekalb Elementary School	Camden, SC	Regular	PK-5
52	Blaney Elementary School	Elgin, SC	Regular	K-5
53	Sandlapper Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
54	L B Nelson Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
55	Saluda River Academy for the Arts	West Columbia, SC	Regular	K-5
56	Bridge Creek Elementary School	Elgin, SC	Regular	PK-5
57	Pineview Elementary School	West Columbia, SC	Regular	K-5
58	Seven Oaks Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
59	Pine Tree Hill Elementary School	Camden, SC	Regular	PK-5
60	Meadowfield Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
61	Batesburg-Leesville Elementary School	Batesburg-Leesville, SC	Regular	3-5
62	Red Bank Elementary School	Lexington, SC	Regular	PK-5
63	Geiger Elementary School	Ridgeway, SC	Regular	PK-6
64	Dutch Fork Elementary School	Irmo, SC	Regular	PK-5
65	SC Virtual Charter School	Columbia, SC	Charter	K-12
66	Saluda Elementary School	Saluda, SC	Regular	3-5
67	Forest Lake Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
68	South Kilbourne Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
69	B C No 1 Elementary School	West Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
70	Killian Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
71	Rhame Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
72	Sandy Run School	Swansea, SC	Regular	PK-8
73	A C Moore Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
74	SC Connections Academy	Columbia, SC	Charter	K-12
75	Herbert A Wood Elementary School	West Columbia, SC	Regular	2-5
76	St Matthews K-8 School	St. Matthews, SC	Regular	PK-8
77	Mill Creek Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
78	Kelly Miller Elementary School	Winnsboro, SC	Regular	PK-6
79	Bradley Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
80	McCrorey-Liston School of Technology	Blair, SC	Regular	PK-6
81	Forts Pond Elementary School	Pelion, SC	Regular	PK-5
82	Bethune Elementary School	Bethune, SC	Regular	K-5
83	Jackson Elementary School	Camden, SC	Regular	PK-5
84	Pelion Elementary School	Pelion, SC	Regular	PK-5
85	Horrell Hill Elementary School	Hopkins, SC	Regular	PK-5
86	L W Conder Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
87	Gadsden Elementary School	Gadsden, SC	Regular	PK-5
88	Carolina School for Inquiry	Columbia, SC	Charter	PK-6
89	Joseph Keels Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
90	Windsor Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
91	Annie Burnside Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
92	Congaree Elementary School	West Columbia, SC	Regular	2-5
93	Caughman Road Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
94	A J Lewis Greenview Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
95	Arden Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
96	Logan Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
97	Midway Elementary School	Cassatt, SC	Regular	PK-5
98	Watkins-Nance Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
99	Midlands STEM Institute	Winnsboro, SC	Charter	K-8
100	Burton Pack Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
101	Webber Elementary School	Eastover, SC	Regular	PK-5
102	Hopkins Elementary School	Hopkins, SC	Regular	PK-5
103	Sandel Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
104	E.E Taylor Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
105	Carver-Lyon Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
106	J P Thomas Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
107	Pine Grove Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
108	Forest Heights Elementary School	Columbia, SC	Regular	PK-5
109	Fairfield Elementary School	Winnsboro, SC	Regular	PK-6
110	Frances F Mack Intermediate School	Gaston, SC	Regular	5-6
111	Kelly Mill Middle School	Blythewood, SC	Regular	2-8

Rankings for the best elementary schools in the Columbia area were created independently by Carolina School Hub. The test data for this site was derived from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and South Carolina Department of Education.

You can click on a specific school name above for more information on elementary school test scores, student data and more.

Choosing an Elementary School in the Columbia Area

When comparing regular Columbia-area elementary schools to charter and magnet schools, one should keep in mind the differences between charter schools, magnet schools and traditional public schools.

Magnet schools are in most cases alternative public schools that offer a specialized curriculum. At the highest level, North and South Carolina magnet schools and traditional elementary schools tend to be managed by the same entity - the county school superintendent's office. Magnet schools normally can accept students from anywhere in the county in which they are located, and often limit the acceptance pool through a lottery system.

Charter schools, on the other hand, are each independently managed. They tend to accept students not only from the county in which they're located, but surrounding counties as well. Like magnets, charters tend to use a lottery-based acceptance method.

Regular elementary schools are sometimes called "zoned schools," "neighborhood schools" or "zip code schools." This is because they accept students from a limited geographical area - such as a town or a specific set of subdivisions. Regular schools do not tend to use a lottery system. Regular elementary schools are the most common kinds of schools in North and South Carolina.

Which Elementary Schools are Covered in the Columbia Area

We hope you find the ratings and other information on elementary schools in the Columbia area to be useful. Elementary Schools on this page were drawn from the following counties:

• Richland County, SC
• Lexington County, SC
• Kershaw County, SC
• Fairfield County, SC
• Saluda County, SC
• Calhoun County, SC