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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Columbia, MD
Real Estate & Demographic Data






Columbia profile


Living in Columbia



Columbia is a larger medium-sized town located in the state of Maryland. With a population of 104,681 people and 20 associated neighborhoods, Columbia is the second largest community in Maryland.

Housing costs in Columbia are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Maryland.

Also of interest is that Columbia has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

A relatively large number of people in Columbia telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 18.49% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

One thing noticeable about Columbia, although not a huge town, is that it has a large population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters. That’s because Columbia is full of single people in their 20s and 30s and who have undergraduate or graduate degrees and are starting careers in professional occupations. This makes Columbia a pretty good place for young, educated career starters looking to find many people like themselves, with good opportunities for friendships, socializing, romance, and fun.

If knowledge is power, Columbia is a pretty powerful place. 63.57% of the adults in Columbia have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Columbia in 2018 was $59,338, which is wealthy relative to Maryland and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $237,352 for a family of four. However, Columbia contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Columbia is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Columbia home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Columbia residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Columbia include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Polish.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Columbia's cultural character, accounting for 20.73% of the town’s population.

The most common language spoken in Columbia is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.