Columbus

Population & Demographics

Columbus, NE

Columbus is home to 24,488 people. Explore its demographics, housing, and economy — plus how its 13,328 resident workers commute each day.

NebraskaCensus ACS 5-Year · LODES 2023
24,488
people
Population

24,488 residents

Median age 37.4 · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year (2024).

Columbus population & demographics

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

Population
24,488
Median age
37.4yrs
Median household income
$64,626
Median home value
$213,600
Median gross rent
$892/mo
Bachelor’s degree or higher
21.8%
Poverty rate
11.3%

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 Columbus

How Columbus 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).

White67.6%
Hispanic or Latino28.2%
Two or more races2.9%
Black0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.2%
Asian0.1%
Some other race0.1%

Race across Columbus

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 Columbus.

Columbus at a glance
Employed Residents
13,328
Fewer than the city’s total population
Median home–work distance
41.4mi
Straight-line, not road distance
Work Locally
49.7%
Share working within the area
Work from home
4.4%
Residents who work from home (ACS)
Top destination outside city
Omaha
Excludes local — most work in-city

These figures are for Columbus 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 Columbus 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.

90
Commute Score

90 / 100

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

Columbus

13,328 commutes, one dot at a time

Columbus

Where 13,328 workers commute

Each dot ≈ 75 workers

Where residents work

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

1Columbus0.0 mi6,619
2Omaha69.6 mi881
3Lincoln56.2 mi351
4Norfolk41.4 mi275
5Fremont45.2 mi185
6Schuyler15.5 mi110
7David City17.2 mi84
8Grand Island62.8 mi84

Who commutes in

Top origin places for workers who travel into Columbus.

1Columbus0.0 mi6,619
2Schuyler15.5 mi620
3Lincoln56.2 mi330
4Omaha69.6 mi314
5Norfolk41.4 mi270
6Grand Island62.8 mi225
7David City17.2 mi128
8Fremont45.2 mi113

Top industries

The sectors that employ Columbus’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%)
MFManufacturing31.5%
HCHealth Care and Social Assistance12.7%
RTRetail Trade12.2%
AFAccommodation and Food Services8.1%
EDEducational Services5.1%
UTUtilities4.3%
PAPublic Administration3.8%
COConstruction3.3%
FIFinance and Insurance3.1%
Connectivity

Internet options for Columbus

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

14 providers · 3 with fiber
Speed availabilityshare of homes a plan reaches
1 Gbps~all homes
2 Gbps1%
5 Gbps
8 Gbps
See all internet providers in Columbus

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).