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Place dossier plate
SheetIN-COLUMBUS-IN · Columbus, IN 51,104 pop · income 58th pct · 16 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Columbus
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Columbus on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Anderson · lowest
47,221
Anderson · lowest
47,221 median HH income
35.2% of the leader · rank #1
Abernathy · near
76,850
Abernathy · near
76,850 median HH income
57.2% of the leader · rank #2
Stockton · near
76,851
Stockton · near
76,851 median HH income
57.2% of the leader · rank #3
Columbus · this city
76,856
Columbus · this city
76,856 median HH income
57.2% of the leader · rank #4
Plaquemine · near
76,857
Plaquemine · near
76,857 median HH income
57.2% of the leader · rank #5
Ceres · near
76,862
Ceres · near
76,862 median HH income
57.2% of the leader · rank #6
Collierville · highest
134,319
Collierville · highest
134,319 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Columbus on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 51,104.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Columbus - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Columbus places in the 58th percentile for household income and the 98th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
58th
percentile, household income
51st
percentile, home value
27th
percentile, median rent
98th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Columbus, IN
Columbus is a small city in Indiana, home to 51,104 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Columbus households earn a median of $76,856 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 9.4%. Columbus's housing stock carries a median value of $231,000, and the median resident age is 36.0 years. Educational attainment runs 41.3% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 63.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Columbus reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 96.4 incidents per 100,000 residents, below the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 54.1°F with 47.3 inches of precipitation per year and 16.3 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Indiana run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Indiana scores 93.3 (Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,096 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $235 across Indiana, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Commute times here average 15.9 minutes, with 74.6% driving alone and 13.3% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 45.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Columbus's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to reported crime to climate and hazard context to housing and income to population change to within-city variation to schools and households to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Columbus, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Columbus?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 74.6%. The reported mean trip to work is 15.9 minutes.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Columbus?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 96.4 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 96% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 16 Census tracts to this city.
Which cities make useful reference points for Columbus?
Within Indiana, the closest population matches are Westfield (51,109 residents, $119,598 income); Mishawaka (50,907 residents, $53,120 income); Jeffersonville (50,176 residents, $70,157 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Troy, NY (51,054 residents); Hoffman Estates, IL (51,186 residents); Wake Forest, NC (51,199 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Climate and hazard context
What physical conditions frame life in Columbus?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 54.1°F, with 47.3 inches of precipitation and 16.3 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Indiana is 45.5 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Mean temperature
54.1°F
Annual precipitation
47.3 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
45.5
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
How far does income reach against housing in Columbus?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.4%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
Household income
$76,856
Home value
$231,000
Value / income
3.0×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Is Columbus growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +2,117 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +4.2% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
+4.2%
2025 estimate
52,655
2020 estimate
50,538
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
The NCES join finds 15 public schools within the city match. 41.3% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
15
Bachelor's degree+
41.3%
Poverty estimate
9.4%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Above median income · poverty 9.4% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
93.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Indiana average
B-
City profile score · Columbus, IN
67/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Violent crime A+
14 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share B+
41.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cost of living B
93.3 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income C
$76,856
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate D
9.4%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Columbus profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 93/100 (A+) · 14 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 76/100 (B+) · 41.3%
Cost of living: 72/100 (B) · 93.3 index
Household income: 56/100 (C) · $76,856
Poverty rate: 42/100 (D) · 9.4%
Where Columbus sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Columbus's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Columbus highlighted among 11 peers.Read the chart values
Columbus, IN (this city): home $231,000, crime 96/100k
Troy, NY : home $192,500, crime 3,244/100k
Hoffman Estates, IL : home $340,400, crime 1,142/100k
Wake Forest, NC : home $435,000, crime 1,452/100k
Collierville, TN : home $458,300, crime 1,419/100k
Westfield, IN : home $391,900, crime 686/100k
Mishawaka, IN : home $140,600, crime 2,806/100k
Jeffersonville, IN : home $208,500, crime 1,988/100k
Lawrence, IN : home $220,400, crime 2,020/100k
Elkhart, IN : home $126,900, crime 3,595/100k
Anderson, IN : home $104,300, crime 2,676/100k
How does Columbus compare to other US cities?
Here's how Columbus stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income58% higher than other cities
Home value51% pricier than other cities
Median rent27% pricier than other cities
Safety98% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Indiana alone, Columbus ranks #2 of 110 Indiana cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Columbus against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Indiana only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Indiana-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Columbus near the bottom of Indiana's cities
Among the 850 Indiana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Columbus ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Columbus only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#200 of 766
74th percentile in Indiana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 850
0th percentile in Indiana
Median Home Value
#115 of 771
85th percentile in Indiana
Poverty Rate
#314 of 849
62nd percentile in Indiana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#70 of 850
92nd percentile in Indiana
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Indiana only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
58th percentile nationally for median household income · 98th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Columbus's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Columbus's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Columbus's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$231,00049th percentilemore affordable than 49% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Columbus's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#6,722 of 15,516
More affordable than 57% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#116 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 3.0×, Columbus sits in the moderate band:
national rank #6,722 of 15,516 and #116 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$76,856Columbus, IN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Columbus, IN median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Columbus, IN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)41.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)63.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
51,104
Median Income
$76,856
Median Home Value
$231,000
Median Age
36.0
Poverty Rate
9.4%
Labor force participation
63.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
41.3%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
96.4
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
13.5
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
82.9
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
54.1°F
Annual Precipitation
47.3"
Annual Snowfall
16.3"
Schools
Total Schools
15
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Columbus's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
50,538 residents
2021
50,823 residents
2022
51,321 residents
2023
51,642 residents
2024
52,189 residents
2025
52,655 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
15.9 minutes
Drive Alone
74.6%
Carpool
8.9%
Public Transit
0.8%
Walk
1.2%
Work from Home
13.3%
Other
1.2%
Based on 25,342 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Indiana statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $235
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Indiana at $235 (electricity about $110 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Indiana statewide averages, not a meter reading for Columbus. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Indiana's BEA cost-of-living index is 93.3 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Columbus is $1,096/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Indiana statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 45.5 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Indiana statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Columbus sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Columbus compares to similar-size Indiana cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.