Columbia

Population & Demographics

Columbia, MO

Columbia is home to 128,548 people. Explore its demographics, housing, and economy — plus how its 56,776 resident workers commute each day.

MissouriCensus ACS 5-Year · LODES 2023
128,548
people
Population

128,548 residents

Median age 29.5 · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year (2024).

Columbia population & demographics

Who lives in Columbia — population, age, housing, and income, from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population
128,548
Median age
29.5yrs
Median household income
$66,498
Median home value
$284,600
Median gross rent
$1,097/mo
Bachelor’s degree or higher
56.7%
Poverty rate
19.2%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates. Values shown as “—” are suppressed or unavailable for this place.

Race & ethnicity in Columbia

How Columbia breaks down by race and ethnicity — each bar is that group’s share of the population, from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year (2024).

White71.7%
Black12.1%
Asian6.3%
Two or more races5.0%
Hispanic or Latino4.4%
Some other race0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander0.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.1%

Race across Columbia

Each dot is a group of people, placed in their 2020 Census block and colored by race or ethnicity — the pattern shows where groups live across Columbia.

Columbia at a glance
Employed Residents
56,776
Fewer than the city’s total population
Median home–work distance
27.2mi
Straight-line, not road distance
Work Locally
68.9%
Share working within the area
Work from home
10.0%
Residents who work from home (ACS)
Top destination outside city
Jefferson City
Excludes local — most work in-city

These figures are for Columbia proper — the Census place within its city limits — not the surrounding metro area. Metro-wide totals you’ll see elsewhere are larger because they bundle in neighboring cities and suburbs.

How Columbia commutes

Every dot is a worker moving between home and job. Trace where the area pulls people in from — and where its residents head each day.

85
Commute Score

85 / 100

How short the typical commute is here, on an absolute 0–100 scale (higher is shorter). How it’s calculated.

Columbia

56,776 commutes, one dot at a time

Columbia

Where 56,776 workers commute

Each dot ≈ 75 workers

Where residents work

Top destinations for people who live in Columbia, by worker count.

1Columbia0.0 mi39,126
2Jefferson City27.2 mi2,524
3Kansas City120.1 mi1,046
4Springfield131.8 mi538
5Fulton21.5 mi517
6St. Louis114.7 mi456
7Moberly33.0 mi379
8Mexico28.4 mi240

Who commutes in

Top origin places for workers who travel into Columbia.

1Columbia0.0 mi39,126
2Jefferson City27.2 mi1,861
3Kansas City120.1 mi1,448
4Ashland12.4 mi1,160
5Boonville22.2 mi1,007
6Moberly33.0 mi927
7St. Louis114.7 mi897
8Fulton21.5 mi831

Top industries

The sectors that employ Columbia’s workforce. Each bar is scaled to that sector’s share of all local jobs — the top sectors shown don’t add up to 100%.

Bar length = each sector’s share of all local jobs (0–100%)
HCHealth Care and Social Assistance22.9%
EDEducational Services18.7%
AFAccommodation and Food Services10.7%
RTRetail Trade9.2%
FIFinance and Insurance6.7%
PTProfessional, Scientific, and Technical Services4.3%
MFManufacturing4.0%
PAPublic Administration3.6%
MGManagement of Companies and Enterprises3.5%
Connectivity

Internet options for Columbia

The biggest home-internet providers in the area — tap any to compare local plans.

9 providers · 1 with fiber
Speed availabilityshare of homes a plan reaches
1 Gbps~all homes
2 Gbps99%
5 Gbps
8 Gbps
See all internet providers in Columbia

FindBetterInternet is a CensusFlow partner site — we link out so you can compare local plans, and CensusFlow’s Census data stays independent. Provider data is from the FCC National Broadband Map (satellite + fixed wireless excluded).