Columbia is a larger medium-sized city located in the state of Missouri. With a population of 84,780 people and 23 constituent neighborhoods, Columbia is the fifth largest community in Missouri.

Columbia is a decidedly white-collar city, with fully 88.31% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Columbia is a city of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Columbia who work in office and administrative support jobs (15.63%), sales jobs (11.27%), and teaching (11.19%).

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.

In addition, Columbia is a major college town that has a very high percentage of its residents over 18 years old who are college students. Naturally, collegiate life has a major influence on local Columbia culture, lifestyle and entertainment options. Columbia really pulses to the beat of the academic calendar. In Columbia every fall, returning students reinvigorate the community, who you will notice are all over town, buying groceries, out with friends, and getting acquainted or re-acquainted with each other and Columbia. One of the beneficial effects that colleges provide is that they tend to be lasting institutions that deliver direct economic benefits to the local economy in the form of such things as jobs for faculty and staff, and spending by students. Columbia benefits directly from this.

Not only is Columbia a city with many college students, but it also retains many recent graduates who are looking to start new careers, shaping the character of the city into a place that is geared toward, and considered attractive to, many single, educated people. Many singles consider Columbia a good place to live without being in a really big city, with opportunities for friendships and fun with others like themselves.

Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 15.27 minutes getting to work every day.

Columbia Information and Demographics

Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Columbia, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Columbia is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 50.45% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 14.96%.

The per capita income in Columbia in 2000 was $19,507, which is upper middle income relative to Missouri and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $78,028 for a family of four.

Columbia is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Columbia home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Columbia is White, followed by African-American. Important ancestries of people in Columbia include German, English, Irish, and Italian.

The most common language spoken in Columbia is English. Some people also speak Spanish.