Columbia, SC

About

N/A of the households in Columbia, SC reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

96.9% of the residents in Columbia, SC are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Columbia, SC are University of South Carolina-Columbia (9,808 degrees awarded in 2024), Midlands Technical College (1,717 degrees), and Columbia International University (570 degrees).

Most people in Columbia, SC drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 25 minutes. The average car ownership in Columbia, SC was 2 cars per household.

Columbia, SC borders Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC, Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC, Florence, SC, Greenwood, SC, Newberry, SC, Orangeburg, SC, Spartanburg, SC, and Sumter, SC.

About the photo: State Capitol Grounds, Columbia, SC

Photo by Ron Cogswell

United States South Carolina

Population & Diversity

Columbia, SC is home to a population of 849k people, from which 96.9% are citizens. As of 2024, 5.76% of Columbia, SC residents were born outside of the country (48.9k people).

In 2024, there were 1.61 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (452k people) in Columbia, SC than any other race or ethnicity. There were 281k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 25.5k Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

96.9%

2024 Citizenship

96.9%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 96.9% of Columbia, SC residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Columbia, SC was 96.9%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Columbia, SC compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Columbia, SC

White (Non-Hispanic)
452k ± 827
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
281k ± 1.64k
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
25.5k ± 1.59k

7.03%

Hispanic Population

59.7k people

In 2024, there were 1.61 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (452k people) in Columbia, SC than any other race or ethnicity. There were 281k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 25.5k Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

7.03% of the people in Columbia, SC are hispanic (59.7k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Columbia, SC as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the MSA level, so we are showing data for South Carolina.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
65,146 ± 6,228 people
India
21,511 ± 3,594 people
Colombia
15,785 ± 3,080 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of South Carolina was Mexico, the natal country of 65,146 South Carolina residents, followed by India with 21,511 and Colombia with 15,785.

Foreign-Born Population

5.76%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

48.9k people

5.54%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

46.5k people

As of 2024, 5.76% of Columbia, SC residents (48.9k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Columbia, SC was 5.54%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Columbia, SC compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Gulf War (2001-)
20,990 ± 1,490
Vietnam
14,753 ± 765
Gulf War (1990s)
11,564 ± 902

Columbia, SC has a large population of military personnel who served in Gulf War (2001-), 1.42 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Columbia, SC.

Health

91.2% of the population of Columbia, SC has health coverage, with 44.1% on employee plans, 15.8% on Medicaid, 10.9% on Medicare, 16.9% on non-group plans, and 3.47% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in South Carolina see 1,485 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,485 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1682 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 437 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, N/A were men and N/A were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for South Carolina.

1,485 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in South Carolina

Primary care physicians in South Carolina see an average of 1,485 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,485 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in South Carolina in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 24.3% under 18 years, 21.9% between 18 and 34 years, 37.6% between 35 and 64 years, and 16.2% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, N/A were men and N/A were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

8.82%

Uninsured

44.1%

Employer Coverage

15.8%

Medicaid

10.9%

Medicare

16.9%

Non-Group

3.47%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Columbia, SC declined by 2.03% from 9% to 8.82%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Columbia, SC changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Economy

The economy of Columbia, SC employs 402k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Columbia, SC were Health Care & Social Assistance (53,900 people), Retail Trade (42,862 people), and Educational Services (41,189 people), and the highest paying industries were Utilities ($82,263), Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services ($65,846), and Finance & Insurance ($59,714).

Employment

Occupations

402k

2024 Value

± 5,791

1.26%

1 Year growth

± 1.99%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Columbia, SC grew at a rate of 1.26%, from 397k employees to 402k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Columbia, SC, are N/A. This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Columbia, SC.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for South Carolina.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in South Carolina (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

402k

2024 Value

± 5,791

1.26%

1 Year growth

± 1.99%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Columbia, SC grew at a rate of 1.26%, from 397k employees to 402k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Columbia, SC, are Health Care & Social Assistance (53,900 people), Retail Trade (42,862 people), and Educational Services (41,189 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Columbia, SC, though some of these residents may live in Columbia, SC and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$50,101

Median earning men ± $800

$39,306

Median earning women ± $952

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($71,588), Public Administration ($62,637), and Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($60,686).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Public Administration ($53,292), Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($51,918), and Wholesale Trade ($47,922).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for South Carolina.

Y-Axis

2.54%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 2.26M people employed in South Carolina. This represents a 2.54% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 13.4%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in South Carolina.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

1,398
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
1,268
Other Services (except Public Administration)
1,169
Retail Trade

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in South Carolina went to Donald J. Trump with 58.2% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (40.4%), followed by Other (0.595%).

Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott are the senators currently representing the state of South Carolina. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

South Carolina is currently represented by 7 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Presidential Popular Vote Over Time

Voting results are not available for Columbia, SC. Showing the available data for South Carolina.

2024 Election Results

Donald J. Trump (58.2%)
Republican Party
Kamala Harris (40.4%)
Democratic Party
Other (0.595%)
Other Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in South Carolina went to Donald J. Trump with 58.2% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (40.4%), followed by Other (0.595%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in South Carolina for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

Senator Elections

US Senators from South Carolina

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for South Carolina.

Lindsey Graham

Senator from South Carolina

Assumed office on January 3, 2003

Tim Scott

Senator from South Carolina

Assumed office on January 2, 2013
Appointed to the seat following the resignation of Jim DeMint.

Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott are the senators currently representing South Carolina.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in South Carolina over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

Education

In 2024, universities in Columbia, SC awarded 14,179 degrees. The student population of Columbia, SC in 2024 is skewed towards women, with 22,154 male students and 34,786 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Columbia, SC are White (8,473 and 62.9%), Black or African American (2,778 and 20.6%), Hispanic or Latino (779 and 5.79%), and Asian (529 and 3.93%).

The largest universities in Columbia, SC by number of degrees awarded are University of South Carolina-Columbia (9,808 and 69.2%), Midlands Technical College (1,717 and 12.1%), and Columbia International University (570 and 4.02%).

The most popular majors in Columbia, SC are General Business Administration & Management (600 and 4.23%), Liberal Arts & Sciences (570 and 4.02%), and General Finance (501 and 3.53%).

The median tuition costs are $17,492 for private four year colleges, and $12,288 and $35,898 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2024 in Columbia, SC, the percentage of applicants admitted was 65.3%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 19.5%. The number of students enrolled in 2024 was 56,940 (38.9% men and 61.1% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2024 there were 56,940 students enrolled in Columbia, SC, 38.9% men and 61.1% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 32,482 records, of which 60.3% were women and 39.7% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

General Finance
501 degrees awarded
General Biological Sciences
427 degrees awarded
General Public Health
420 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Columbia, SC was General Finance with 501 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Columbia, SC according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

University of South Carolina-Columbia
9,808 degrees awarded
Midlands Technical College
1,717 degrees awarded
Columbia International University
570 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was University of South Carolina-Columbia with 9,808 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2024, 5,484 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Columbia, SC, which is 0.631 times less than the 8,695 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 8,473 degrees mean that there were 3.05 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Black or African American, with 2,778 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private for-profit, 2-year ($18,895) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($1,482) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Private for-profit, 2-year ($1,592) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

People in Columbia, SC have an average commute time of 25 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Columbia, SC is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$68,359

Median Household Income

± $1,206

340k

Number of Households

± 5,341

In 2024, the median household income of the 340k households in Columbia, SC grew to $68,359 from the previous year's value of $66,146.

The following chart displays the households in Columbia, SC distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Columbia, SC is from South Carolina.

0.462

2024 Wage GINI in South Carolina

0.464

2023 Wage GINI in South Carolina

In 2024, the income inequality in South Carolina was 0.462 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.296% decline from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for South Carolina was lower than than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in South Carolina in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in South Carolina across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (74.6%)
Worked At Home (11.8%)
Carpooled (8.35%)

In 2024, 74.6% of workers in Columbia, SC drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (11.8%) and those who carpooled to work (8.35%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

25 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Columbia, SC have a shorter commute time (25 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 2.34% of the workforce in Columbia, SC have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Columbia, SC compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Columbia, SC distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Columbia, SC have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

14.5% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Columbia, SC (119k out of 818k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are N/A N/A, followed by N/A N/A and then N/A N/A.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Columbia, SC is Black, followed by White and Hispanic.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798, followed by New York (5,087).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Keep Exploring