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Place dossier plate
SheetMS-COLUMBIA-MS · Columbia, MS 5,804 pop · income 4th pct · 6 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 Columbia
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Columbia on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Jackson · lowest
34,317
Jackson · lowest
34,317 median HH income
29.7% of the leader · rank #1
Browning · near
34,318
Browning · near
34,318 median HH income
29.7% of the leader · rank #2
Skidway Lake · near
34,320
Skidway Lake · near
34,320 median HH income
29.7% of the leader · rank #3
Ford Heights · near
34,323
Ford Heights · near
34,323 median HH income
29.7% of the leader · rank #4
Los Molinos · near
34,324
Los Molinos · near
34,324 median HH income
29.7% of the leader · rank #5
Columbia · this city
34,328
Columbia · this city
34,328 median HH income
29.7% of the leader · rank #6
South Hooksett · highest
115,592
South Hooksett · highest
115,592 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
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Columbia on ACS population and median household income
. 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: 5,804.
Columbia ranks in the 4th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
4th
percentile, household income
14th
percentile, home value
0th
percentile, median rent
📝 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: Columbia, MS
Columbia is a small town in Mississippi, home to 5,804 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Columbia report a median income of $34,328 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 19.6%. Home values in Columbia run a median of $112,100, and the median resident age is 39.6 years. About 12.7% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 41.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 1 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Stable), up 0% from five years earlier. NOAA puts Columbia's yearly average temperature at 66.5°F with 61.9 inches of precipitation per year.
Living costs in Mississippi run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Mississippi at 87.0 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $924 per month. Monthly utility costs average around $223 across Mississippi, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 50.9 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Columbia'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 housing and income to population change to work and mobility to schools and households to climate and hazard context to comparison shortlist to within-city variation; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Columbia, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, matched public-school count, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Columbia?
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.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 19.6%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Is Columbia growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -240 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -3.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 1 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Which cities make useful reference points for Columbia?
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.
Within Mississippi, the closest population matches are Pontotoc (5,717 residents, $50,230 income); Pass Christian (5,942 residents, $74,302 income); Louisville (6,018 residents, $37,679 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Weiser, ID (5,803 residents); Ephraim, UT (5,805 residents); South Hooksett, NH (5,806 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.
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.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Columbia?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 80.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
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.
Drive alone
80.8%
Work from home
9.8%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 1,863 workers age 16+.
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.
The NCES join finds 6 public schools within the city match. 12.7% 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.
Poverty estimate
19.6%
Bachelor's degree+
12.7%
Matched public schools
6
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
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.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 66.5°F, with 61.9 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Mississippi is 50.9 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.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
50.9
Annual precipitation
61.9 in
Mean temperature
66.5°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 19.6% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
87.0 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Mississippi average
F
City profile score · Columbia, MS
30/100
4 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.
Cost of living A+
87.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate F
19.6%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
12.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$34,328
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Columbia profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 97/100 (A+) · 87.0 index
Poverty rate: 14/100 (F) · 19.6%
Bachelor's+ share: 14/100 (F) · 12.7%
Household income: 0/100 (F) · $34,328
How does Columbia compare to other US cities?
Where Columbia sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income4% higher than other cities
Home value14% pricier than other cities
Median rent0% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Columbia against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Mississippi only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Mississippi-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Columbia near the bottom of Mississippi's cities
Among the 395 Mississippi cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Columbia ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Columbia only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#272 of 345
21st percentile in Mississippi
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 395
0th percentile in Mississippi
Median Home Value
#163 of 348
53rd percentile in Mississippi
Poverty Rate
#172 of 393
56th percentile in Mississippi
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#258 of 394
34th percentile in Mississippi
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 Mississippi only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
4th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Columbia's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$112,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 86% 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
Columbia's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#7,965 of 15,516
More affordable than 49% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#6,538 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.3×, Columbia sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,965 of 15,516 and #6,538 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
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
$34,328Columbia, MS median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Columbia, MS median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Columbia, MS.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)12.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)19.6%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)41.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
5,804
Median Income
$34,328
Median Home Value
$112,100
Median Age
39.6
Poverty Rate
19.6%
Labor force participation
41.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
12.7%
Climate
Avg Temperature
66.5°F
Annual Precipitation
61.9"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
6
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Columbia's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
6,765 residents
2021
6,716 residents
2022
6,631 residents
2023
6,603 residents
2024
6,572 residents
2025
6,525 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Stable
Total Permits (2024)
1
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.2
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.2M
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
3
3
0
$0.9M
2024
1
1
0
$0.4M
Permit volume increased 0% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
80.8%
Carpool
7.4%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
2.1%
Work from Home
9.8%
Based on 1,863 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Mississippi statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $223
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Mississippi at $223 (electricity about $135 , water and sewer about $38 ).
These are Mississippi statewide averages, not a meter reading for Columbia. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Mississippi's BEA cost-of-living index is 87.0 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Columbia is $924/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Mississippi statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 50.9 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Mississippi statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Columbia sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Columbia compares to similar-size Mississippi 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, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, 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.