Columbia County, Georgia Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Columbia County, GA Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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B
Health Around averageAmong the top 5 healthiest counties in Georgia
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B
Income Around average
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B
Education Around average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Columbia County | Georgia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 162,330 | 10,939,918 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 527.8 | 184.0 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 1.88% | 1.01% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 36.0 | 35.2 | 37.3 |
| Households | 55,149 | 4,074,039 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Columbia County grew by 50.2% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 162,330 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Columbia County is Millennials, aged 29–44, at 23.0% of residents. That is 0.5 points above Georgia as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 34,090 21.0% -1.7 pts
- Millennials 29–44 37,272 23.0% +0.5 pts
- Gen X 45–60 33,940 20.9% +0.3 pts
- Boomers 61–79 22,741 14.0% -0.8 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Georgia, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 51.0% of the people living in Columbia County and men 49.0%.
- Women 51.0% Georgia 51.2%
- Men 49.0% Georgia 48.8%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Columbia County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Columbia County has a the economy index of B, which means it is quite prosperous.
| Metric | Columbia County | Georgia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $95,509 | $77,523 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 3.60% | 5.33% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.6% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Columbia County is about 23% higher than in Georgia.
Housing
| Metric | Columbia County | Georgia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $303,017 | $256,986 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $1,409 | $1,392 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 78.1% | 65.7% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Columbia County is about 17.9 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $1,409 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Columbia County spend about 46 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 193 hours, about 8.0 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Columbia County | Georgia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 23.1 | 23.6 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 46.2 | 47.3 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 193 | 197 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $5,969 | $6,109 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 11.0% | 15.9% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 8,958 | 11,986 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 2,010 | 1,447 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Georgia:
Chattahoochee County (8.6 min), Ben Hill County (12.7 min), Tift County (15.8 min).
Slowest:
Talbot County (40.8 min), McIntosh County (37.7 min), Paulding County (36.4 min).
The average commute time in Columbia County is 23 minutes, shorter than the 24 minutes in Georgia.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Columbia County has a education index of B, which means it is quite educated.
| Metric | Columbia County | Georgia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 34.4% | 30.7% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.93 | 2.62 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Georgia:
Oconee County (0.4), Fulton County (0.4), Forsyth County (0.4).
Lowest:
Quitman County (0.1), Hancock County (0.1), Taliaferro County (0.1).
Health
Columbia County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.
| Metric | Columbia County | Georgia Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 78.4 | 75.8 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 12.3% | 20.0% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 15.3% | 22.0% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Georgia:
Forsyth County (0.8), Oconee County (0.8), Fayette County (0.8).
Lowest:
Clinch County (0.7), Clay County (0.7), Quitman County (0.7).
Columbia County, GA Compared With Nearby Counties
Columbia County, GA is the 2nd largest of the 4 counties compared here, 162,330 residents against a local median of 27,456. The measure that sets Columbia County, GA apart most is median home price: $303,017, 203% above the local median of $99,998.
Median household income tells the same story from another angle: $95,509 against a local median of $57,549, 66% above it. The picture is mixed rather than uniform: median household income runs ahead of the neighbourhood while commute runs behind it, so Columbia County, GA is trading one against the other rather than simply out-performing what surrounds it. The counties themselves sit within $78,145 of each other on median home price, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Columbia County, GA, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Columbia County, GA has the highest median home price of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia County, GA | 162,330 | $95,509 #1/4 | $303,017 #1/4 | 23.1 min #4/4 |
| McDuffie County, GA | 21,716 | $57,549 | $99,998 | 18.1 min |
| Richmond County, GA | 206,056 | $56,121 | $141,895 | 18.7 min |
| Edgefield County, SC | 27,456 | $71,945 | $63,750 | 22.8 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Columbia County, Georgia.
What is the population of Columbia County, Georgia?
About 162,330 people live in Columbia County, Georgia, in 55,149 households of 2.9 people on average. The median age is 36.0, close to the U.S. median of 37.3.
Is Columbia County, Georgia mostly urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Columbia County, Georgia has 528 people per square mile, a density typical of a mix of suburbs, small towns and farmland. That is about 6.1 times the U.S. average of 86.
Can a typical household afford a home in Columbia County, Georgia?
The median home costs 3.2 times the median household income ($303,017 against $95,509), compared with 3.1 times nationally. A ratio of about 3 is traditionally considered affordable. Median rent of $1,409 a month takes about 18% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
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