Living in Columbia, SC
On Locationistics's default family weighting, Columbia ranks #66 of 103 US metros and #3 of 3 in South Carolina. Typical home $256k · median income $68k · 849k residents.
Live data: 103 of 103 metros refreshed — BLS unemployment 2026-07 · FBI crime 2025 · Census ACS ACS 2024 5-year · Zillow ZHVI 2026-07-31 · last refresh Sep 6, 2026. Sources and limits.
Strongest here
- Temperate climate — 93/100
- Faith community — 86/100
- Home affordability — 81/100
Weakest here
- School academics — 6/100
- Self-employment health — 9/100
- Income vs. cost — 14/100
Who lives in Columbia
Racial and ethnic composition of the metro, from Census ACS table B03002.
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 53.3%
- Hispanic or Latino
- 7%
- Black (non-Hispanic)
- 33.1%
- Asian (non-Hispanic)
- 2.3%
- Other or two or more
- 4.3%
Diversity index 75/100 — how evenly the population is spread across these groups. It is descriptive, not a judgement: weight it up, down or to zero on the ranking engine.
Schools in Columbia
Measured grade-8 test results across every public school district in the metro, weighted by how many students sat the tests (2020 school year).
- Reading proficient
- —
- Math proficient
- 28.5%
- Combined
- 28.5%
Source: NCES EDFacts assessments via the Urban Institute Education Data API. A dash means the state withheld that subject for this year. States set their own proficiency bars, so compare within a state first.
Sports & college recruiting in Columbia
How much college scholarship attention is within reach of local high schools — the four-year colleges and universities in the metro, how many of them are large programs, and how the state as a whole compares.
- Recruiting reach
- 38/100
- Colleges in metro
- 6
- Large universities
- 1
Source: NCES IPEDS four-year institution directory. This measures where scholarship programs are, not signings per high school — no recruiting-signings dataset is public. Large means 10,000+ students, the size at which a university fields a full slate of scholarship teams.
All 14 factor scores
- Temperate climate
- 35°F Jan low · 92°F Jul high
- 93
- School academics
- 15/100 · 28.5% proficient grade 8
- 6
- School sports & recruiting
- 38/100 · 6 colleges nearby, 1 large
- 26
- Safe neighbourhoods
- 33/100 safety index
- 33
- Home affordability
- $256k typical home · 3.8× income
- 81
- Property growth
- +29% over 5 years
- 73
- Faith community
- 610 adherents per 1,000
- 86
- College pipeline
- 56/100 college pipeline
- 39
- Job market
- 4.0% unemployment · 59/100 job market
- 62
- Income vs. cost
- $68k median · cost index 90
- 14
- Self-employment health
- 60/100 small-business index
- 9
- Short commutes
- 25 min mean commute
- 45
- Population diversity
- 75/100 diversity · 53.3% White · 7% Hispanic · 33.1% Black · 2.3% Asian
- 72
- Healthcare access
- 70/100 healthcare index
- 16
Common questions
Is Columbia a good place to live?
It depends on your weighting, which is the whole point of this tool. On the default family weighting it sits at #66 nationally, carried by temperate climate and held back by school academics. Re-weight the factors to see where it lands for you.
How much does a house cost in Columbia?
The typical home value is about $256k, roughly 3.8× the median household income, and values are up 29% over five years.
What is the weather like?
Around 35°F for a typical January low and 92°F for a typical July high, using NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
Similar metros in the South
Thinking of moving to Columbia?
The relocation guide covers what an interstate move costs, the licence, registration and tax paperwork with its deadlines, and how to line up work in a new metro before you arrive.
Want the whole picture in one place? The Columbia relocation report is a full written analysis of this metro — ranks, every factor, affordability maths, schools, community and comparable metros — for $29.
Figures are compiled public-data estimates. Methodology and sources.