Columbia, MO

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

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2024 Population
215,014
US Senator
Josh Hawley
Republican Party
US Senator
Eric Schmitt
Republican Party
2024 Median Age
33.5
1.21% 1-year increase
2024 Poverty Rate
16%
2.8% 1-year decrease
2024 Median Household Income
$72,340
4.14% 1-year growth
2024 Median Property Value
$258,700
6.68% 1-year growth
2024 Employed Population
110,765
1.35% 1-year growth

About

None of the households in Columbia, MO 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.

97.1% of the residents in Columbia, MO are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Columbia, MO are University of Missouri-Columbia (10,926 degrees awarded in 2023), Columbia College (177065) (1,920 degrees), and Central Methodist University-College of Graduate and Extended Studies (592 degrees).

In 2024, the median property value in Columbia, MO was $258,700, and the homeownership rate was 59.9%.

Most people in Columbia, MO drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 19.6 minutes. The average car ownership in Columbia, MO was 2 cars per household.

Columbia, MO borders Jefferson City, MO, Mexico, MO, and Moberly, MO.

United StatesMissouri

Population & Diversity

Columbia, MO is home to a population of 215k people, from which 97.1% are citizens. As of 2024, 5.67% of Columbia, MO residents were born outside of the country (12.2k people).

In 2024, there were 8.57 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (166k people) in Columbia, MO than any other race or ethnicity. There were 19.4k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 9.09k Asian (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

97.1%
2024 Citizenship
96.6%
2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 97.1% of Columbia, MO residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Columbia, MO was 96.6%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been increasing.

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

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Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Columbia, MO
  1. White (Non-Hispanic)
    166k ± 584
  2. Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
    19.4k ± 719
  3. Asian (Non-Hispanic)
    9.09k ± 574
4.21%
Hispanic Population
9.04k people

In 2024, there were 8.57 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (166k people) in Columbia, MO than any other race or ethnicity. There were 19.4k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 9.09k Asian (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

4.21% of the people in Columbia, MO are hispanic (9.04k people).

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

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Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the MSA level, so we are showing data for Missouri.
Most Common Origin
  1. Mexico
    41,951 ± 5,011 people
  2. India
    23,410 ± 3,749 people
  3. China
    17,257 ± 3,221 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Missouri was Mexico, the natal country of 41,951 Missouri residents, followed by India with 23,410 and China with 17,257.

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Foreign-Born Population

5.67%
2024 Foreign-Born Population
12.2k people
5.77%
2023 Foreign-Born Population
12.3k people

As of 2024, 5.67% of Columbia, MO residents (12.2k 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, MO was 5.77%, meaning that the rate has been decreasing.

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

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Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period
  1. Vietnam
    3,035 ± 400
  2. Gulf War (2001-)
    2,657 ± 410
  3. Gulf War (1990s)
    1,118 ± 269

Columbia, MO has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.14 times greater than any other conflict.

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

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Economy

The economy of Columbia, MO employs 111k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Columbia, MO were Educational Services (19,832 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (18,767 people), and Retail Trade (10,718 people), and the highest paying industries were Management of Companies & Enterprises ($106,340), Utilities ($74,575), and Finance & Insurance ($70,333).

Employment

Occupations

111k
2024 Value
± 2,812
1.35%
1 Year growth
± 3.57%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Columbia, MO grew at a rate of 1.35%, from 109k employees to 111k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Columbia, MO, are Management Occupations (12,470 people), Office & Administrative Support Occupations (11,240 people), and Education Instruction, & Library Occupations (10,097 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Columbia, MO.

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Unemployment Insurance Claims

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

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Missouri (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.

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Industries

Employment by Industries

111k
2024 Value
± 2,812
1.35%
1 Year growth
± 3.57%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Columbia, MO grew at a rate of 1.35%, from 109k employees to 111k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Columbia, MO, are Educational Services (19,832 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (18,767 people), and Retail Trade (10,718 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Columbia, MO, though some of these residents may live in Columbia, MO and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

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Median Earnings by Industry

$50,571
Median earning men ± $1,522
$39,069
Median earning women ± $1,557

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($85,595), Public Administration ($60,264), and Manufacturing ($59,464).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($56,038), Public Administration ($51,942), and Wholesale Trade ($49,896).

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Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Missouri.
Y-Axis
2.17%
Year-over-year growth
Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 2.94M people employed in Missouri. This represents a 2.17% 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 11.8%.

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

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Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments
  1. 405
    Health Care and Social Assistance
  2. 405
    Construction
  3. 309
    Other Services (except Public Administration)

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.

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Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll
  1. $1.3M
    Health Care and Social Assistance
  2. $866k
    Finance and Insurance
  3. $422k
    Retail Trade

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

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Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Missouri went to Donald J. Trump with 58.5% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (40.1%), followed by Chase Oliver (0.797%).

Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt are the senators currently representing the state of Missouri. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Missouri is currently represented by 8 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Voting results are not available for Columbia, MO. Showing the available data for Missouri.
2024 Election Results
  1. Donald J. Trump (58.5%)
    Republican Party
  2. Kamala Harris (40.1%)
    Democratic Party
  3. Chase Oliver (0.797%)
    Libertarian Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Missouri went to Donald J. Trump with 58.5% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (40.1%), followed by Chase Oliver (0.797%).

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

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Senator Elections

US Senators from Missouri

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for Missouri.
Josh Hawley
Senator from Missouri1
Assumed office on January 3, 2019
Eric Schmitt
Senator from Missouri3
Assumed office on January 3, 2023

Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt are the senators currently representing Missouri.

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 Missouri over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

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Education

In 2023, universities in Columbia, MO awarded 13,976 degrees. The student population of Columbia, MO in 2023 is skewed towards women, with 17,887 male students and 24,471 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Columbia, MO are White (10,446 and 77.5%), Black or African American (1,023 and 7.59%), Hispanic or Latino (808 and 5.99%), and Two or More Races (590 and 4.38%).

The largest universities in Columbia, MO by number of degrees awarded are University of Missouri-Columbia (10,926 and 78.2%), Columbia College (177065) (1,920 and 13.7%), and Central Methodist University-College of Graduate and Extended Studies (592 and 4.24%).

The most popular majors in Columbia, MO are General Business (1,347 and 9.64%), Other Ethnic, Minority, Gender, & Group Studies (1,253 and 8.97%), and General Studies (651 and 4.66%).

The median tuition costs in Columbia, MO are $19,034 for private four year colleges, and $13,008 and $33,216 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University
Measure

In 2023 in Columbia, MO, the percentage of applicants admitted was 77.9%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 30.9%. The number of students enrolled in 2023 was 42,358 (42.2% men and 57.8% 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.

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Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2023 there were 42,358 students enrolled in Columbia, MO, 42.2% men and 57.8% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 30,925 records, of which 58.4% were women and 41.6% men.

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Completions

Concentrations

Most Common
  1. General Business
    1,053 degrees awarded
  2. General Health Services
    533 degrees awarded
  3. General Psychology
    487 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Columbia, MO was General Business with 1,053 degrees awarded.

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

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Universities

Gender
Race
Largest Universities by degrees awarded
  1. University of Missouri-Columbia
    10,926 degrees awarded
  2. Columbia College (177065)
    1,920 degrees awarded
  3. Central Methodist University-College of Graduate and Extended Studies
    592 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was University of Missouri-Columbia with 10,926 degrees awarded.

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Student Diversity

University

In 2023, 5,570 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Columbia, MO, which is 0.663 times less than the 8,406 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2023, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 10,446 degrees mean that there were 10.2 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Black or African American, with 1,023 degrees awarded.

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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.

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Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($19,034) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,122) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($1,120) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

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

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Housing & Living

The median property value in Columbia, MO was $258,700 in 2024, which is 0.778 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $242,500 to $258,700, a 6.68% increase. The homeownership rate in Columbia, MO is 59.9%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Columbia, MO have an average commute time of 19.6 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Columbia, MO is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$258,700
Median Property Value 2024
±$6,398
$51,727
Median Property Taxes
±$1,617

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Columbia, MO the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Columbia, MO compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

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Rent vs Own

59.9%
Homeownership
2024
67.3%
Homeowners with Mortgage
2024

In 2024, 59.9% of the housing units in Columbia, MO were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 60.5%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Columbia, MO compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

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Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.
$72,340
Median Household Income
± $1,500
86.4k
Number of Households
± 2,337

In 2024, the median household income of the 86.4k households in Columbia, MO grew to $72,340 from the previous year's value of $69,463.

The following chart displays the households in Columbia, MO 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.

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Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Columbia, MO is from Missouri.
0.451
2023 Wage GINI in Missouri
0.455
2022 Wage GINI in Missouri

In 2023, the income inequality in Missouri was 0.451 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.848% decline from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Missouri was lower than than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Missouri in comparison to the national average.

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

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Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024
  1. Drove Alone (75.2%)
  2. Worked At Home (9.56%)
  3. Carpooled (8.88%)

In 2024, 75.2% of workers in Columbia, MO drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (9.56%) and those who carpooled to work (8.88%).

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.

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Commute Time

19.6 minutes
Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Columbia, MO have a shorter commute time (19.6 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.72% of the workforce in Columbia, MO have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

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

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Car Ownership

2 cars
Average Number

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

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Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

16% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Columbia, MO (32.5k out of 203k 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 Females 18 - 24, followed by Males 18 - 24 and then Females 25 - 34.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Columbia, MO is White, followed by Black and Two Or More.

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.

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Health

93.8% of the population of Columbia, MO has health coverage, with 58.8% on employee plans, 10.1% on Medicaid, 11% on Medicare, 12.1% on non-group plans, and 1.7% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Missouri see 1,421 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,421 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1596 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 382 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 48.4% were men and 51.6% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Missouri.
1,421 to 1
Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Missouri

Primary care physicians in Missouri see an average of 1,421 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,421 patients).

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

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Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 22.5% under 18 years, 30.1% between 18 and 34 years, 33.4% between 35 and 64 years, and 14% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 48.4% were men and 51.6% were women.

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

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Uninsured People

6.18%
Uninsured
58.8%
Employer Coverage
10.1%
Medicaid
11%
Medicare
12.1%
Non-Group
1.7%
Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Columbia, MO declined by 6.09% from 6.58% to 6.18%.

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

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