Columbus, MS

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

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2023 Population
68,323
16.7% 1-year growth
US Senator
Roger Wicker
Republican Party
US Senator
Cindy Hyde-Smith
Republican Party
2023 Median Age
37.4
0.809% 1-year increase
2023 Poverty Rate
18.2%
0.812% 1-year increase
2023 Median Household Income
$51,587
3.91% 1-year decline
2023 Median Property Value
$138,600
10.8% 1-year decline
2023 Employed Population
27,346
14.8% 1-year growth

About

In 2023, Columbus, MS had a population of 68.3k people with a median age of 37.4 and a median household income of $51,587. Between 2022 and 2023 the population of Columbus, MS grew from 58,547 to 68,323, a 16.7% increase and its median household income declined from $53,687 to $51,587, a −3.91% decrease.

The 5 largest ethnic groups in Columbus, MS are Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (48.2%), White (Non-Hispanic) (46.1%), Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) (1.78%), Asian (Non-Hispanic) (0.878%), and Two Races Including Other (Hispanic) (0.878%).

None of the households in Columbus, MS 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.

99% of the residents in Columbus, MS are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Columbus, MS are Mississippi University for Women (873 degrees awarded in 2023).

In 2023, the median property value in Columbus, MS was $138,600, and the homeownership rate was 64.2%.

Most people in Columbus, MS drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 21 minutes. The average car ownership in Columbus, MS was 2 cars per household.

Columbus, MS borders Starkville, MS, Tuscaloosa, AL, and West Point, MS.

About the photo: Somewhere a few miles southeast of Golden Triangle Regional Airport near Columbus, Mississippi.
Photo by Roger Smith
United StatesMississippi

Population & Diversity

Columbus, MS is home to a population of 68.3k people, from which 99% are citizens. As of 2023, 2% of Columbus, MS residents were born outside of the country (1.37k people).

In 2023, there were 1.05 times more Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) residents (33k people) in Columbus, MS than any other race or ethnicity. There were 31.5k White (Non-Hispanic) and 1.22k Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

99%
2023 Citizenship
98.9%
2022 Citizenship

As of 2023, 99% of Columbus, MS residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.4%. In 2022, the percentage of US citizens in Columbus, MS was 98.9%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been increasing.

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

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Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Columbus, MS
  1. Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
    33k ± 495
  2. White (Non-Hispanic)
    31.5k ± 277
  3. Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
    1.22k ± 452
1.94%
Hispanic Population
1.32k people

In 2023, there were 1.05 times more Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) residents (33k people) in Columbus, MS than any other race or ethnicity. There were 31.5k White (Non-Hispanic) and 1.22k Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

1.94% of the people in Columbus, MS are hispanic (1.32k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Columbus, MS 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 Mississippi.
Most Common Origin
  1. Mexico
    17,149 ± 3,206 people
  2. Honduras
    5,066 ± 1,746 people
  3. India
    4,341 ± 1,616 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Mississippi was Mexico, the natal country of 17,149 Mississippi residents, followed by Honduras with 5,066 and India with 4,341.

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Foreign-Born Population

2%
2023 Foreign-Born Population
1.37k people
2.31%
2022 Foreign-Born Population
1.36k people

As of 2023, 2% of Columbus, MS residents (1.37k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 13.8%. In 2022, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Columbus, MS was 2.31%, meaning that the rate has been decreasing.

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

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Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period
  1. Gulf War (2001-)
    1,398 ± 308
  2. Vietnam
    1,075 ± 209
  3. Gulf War (1990s)
    463 ± 154

Columbus, MS has a large population of military personnel who served in Gulf War (2001-), 1.3 times greater than any other conflict.

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Economy

The economy of Columbus, MS employs 27.3k people. In 2023, the largest industries in Columbus, MS were Manufacturing (4,261 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (4,040 people), and Retail Trade (3,484 people), and the highest paying industries were Public Administration ($65,325), Utilities ($64,056), and Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($63,063).

Employment

Occupations

27.3k
2023 Value
± 1,416
14.8%
1 Year growth
± 6.57%

From 2022 to 2023, employment in Columbus, MS grew at a rate of 14.8%, from 23.8k employees to 27.3k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Columbus, MS, are Sales & Related Occupations (2,768 people), Office & Administrative Support Occupations (2,662 people), and Management Occupations (2,214 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Columbus, MS.

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Unemployment Insurance Claims

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

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Mississippi (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

27.3k
2023 Value
± 1,416
14.8%
1 Year growth
± 6.57%

From 2022 to 2023, employment in Columbus, MS grew at a rate of 14.8%, from 23.8k employees to 27.3k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Columbus, MS, are Manufacturing (4,261 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (4,040 people), and Retail Trade (3,484 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Columbus, MS, though some of these residents may live in Columbus, MS and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

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Median Earnings by Industry

$46,822
Median earning men ± $4,908
$32,179
Median earning women ± $1,779

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2023 are Public Administration ($67,578), Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($63,049), and Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($56,563).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2023 are Public Administration ($55,938), Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($52,721), and Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($48,409).

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Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Mississippi.
Y-Axis
1.38%
Year-over-year growth
Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 1.17M people employed in Mississippi. This represents a 1.38% 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 12.5%.

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

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Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments
  1. 130
    Other Services (except Public Administration)
  2. 128
    Retail Trade
  3. 95
    Retail Trade

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. $329k
    Manufacturing
  2. $185k
    Health Care and Social Assistance
  3. $98.8k
    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 Mississippi went to Donald J. Trump with 60.9% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (38%), followed by Robert Kennedy (0.439%).

Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith are the senators currently representing the state of Mississippi. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Mississippi is currently represented by 4 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 Columbus, MS. Showing the available data for Mississippi.
2024 Election Results
  1. Donald J. Trump (60.9%)
    Republican Party
  2. Kamala Harris (38%)
    Democratic Party
  3. Robert Kennedy (0.439%)
    Independent Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Mississippi went to Donald J. Trump with 60.9% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (38%), followed by Robert Kennedy (0.439%).

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

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Senator Elections

US Senators from Mississippi

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for Mississippi.
Roger Wicker
Senator from Mississippi1
Assumed office on December 31, 2007
Appointed to the seat following the resignation of Trent Lott.
Cindy Hyde-Smith
Senator from Mississippi2
Assumed office on April 9, 2018
Appointed to the seat following the resignation of Thad Cochran.

Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith are the senators currently representing Mississippi.

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

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US Representative Elections

US Representatives from Mississippi

Mississippi is currently represented by 4 members in the U.S. house.

Members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms, and the following chart shows the how the members for Mississippi have changed over time starting in 2008.

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Education

In 2023, universities in Columbus, MS awarded 873 degrees. The student population of Columbus, MS in 2023 is skewed towards women, with 495 male students and 1,732 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Columbus, MS are White (522 and 60.2%), followed by Black or African American (321 and 37%), Asian (12 and 1.38%), and American Indian or Alaska Native (9 and 1.04%).

The largest universities in Columbus, MS by number of degrees awarded are Mississippi University for Women (873 and 100%).

The most popular majors in Columbus, MS are Registered Nursing (394 and 45.1%), General Business Administration & Management (148 and 17%), and Speech-Language Pathology (60 and 6.87%).

The median tuition cost in Columbus, MS for a public four year colleges is $7,992 for in-state students and $7,992 for out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University
Measure

In 2023 in Columbus, MS, the percentage of applicants admitted was 100%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 28.8%. The number of students enrolled in 2023 was 2,227 (22.2% men and 77.8% 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 2,227 students enrolled in Columbus, MS, 22.2% men and 77.8% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 1,339 records, of which 75.7% were women and 24.3% men.

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Completions

Concentrations

Most Common
  1. General Business Administration & Management
    130 degrees awarded
  2. Speech-Language Pathology
    34 degrees awarded
  3. Registered Nursing
    357 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Columbus, MS was General Business Administration & Management with 130 degrees awarded.

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

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Universities

Gender
Race
Mississippi University for Women
Largest Universities by degrees awarded
873 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Mississippi University for Women with 873 degrees awarded.

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Student Diversity

University

In 2023, 127 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Columbus, MS, which is 0.17 times less than the 746 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 522 degrees mean that there were 1.63 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Black or African American, with 321 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

Public, 4-year or above ($7,992) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($100) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,600) 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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Working Population

Educational Pyramid

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

In 2023, 1.13% of men over 25 years of age had not completed any academic degree (no schooling), while 0.911% of women were in the same situation.

This visualization shows the gender distribution of the population according to the academic level reached.

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Educational Attainment

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

The most common educational levels obtained by the working population in 2023 were High School or Equivalent (691k), Some college (533k), and Secondary Education (391k).

This visualization illustrates the percentage distribution of the population according to the highest educational level reached. You can filter the data by race by using the selector above.

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Housing & Living

The median property value in Columbus, MS was $138,600 in 2023, which is 0.457 times smaller than the national average of $303,400. Between 2022 and 2023 the median property value increased from $155,300 to $138,600, a 10.8% decrease. The homeownership rate in Columbus, MS is 64.2%, which is lower than the national average of 65%.

People in Columbus, MS have an average commute time of 21 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Columbus, MS is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$138,600
Median Property Value 2023
±$8,151
$17,093
Median Property Taxes
±$959

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 Columbus, MS the largest share of households pay taxes in the < $800 range.

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

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Rent vs Own

64.2%
Homeownership
2023
68.1%
Homeowners with Mortgage
2023

In 2023, 64.2% of the housing units in Columbus, MS were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 61.9%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Columbus, MS 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.
$51,587
Median Household Income
± $3,925
26.6k
Number of Households
± 1,334

In 2023, the median household income of the 26.6k households in Columbus, MS declined from $51,587 from the previous year's value of $53,687.

The following chart displays the households in Columbus, MS 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 Columbus, MS is from Mississippi.
0.45
2023 Wage GINI in Mississippi
0.452
2022 Wage GINI in Mississippi

In 2023, the income inequality in Mississippi was 0.45 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.442% decline from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Mississippi was lower than than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Mississippi in comparison to the national average.

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

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Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2023
  1. Drove Alone (86.9%)
  2. Carpooled (6.07%)
  3. Worked At Home (4.85%)

In 2023, 86.9% of workers in Columbus, MS drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (6.07%) and those who worked at home (4.85%).

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

21 minutes
Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Columbus, MS have a shorter commute time (21 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.6 minutes). Additionally, 1.65% of the workforce in Columbus, MS have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Columbus, MS 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 Columbus, MS distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Columbus, MS have 2 cars.

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Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

18.2% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Columbus, MS (12.1k out of 66.5k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.4%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34, followed by Females 55 - 64 and then Females 35 - 44.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Columbus, MS is Black, followed by White 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

87.8% of the population of Columbus, MS has health coverage, with 39.6% on employee plans, 20% on Medicaid, 11.9% on Medicare, 13.8% on non-group plans, and 2.62% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Mississippi see 1,875 patients per year on average, which represents a 0.806% increase from the previous year (1,860 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1939 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 463 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 46.7% were men and 53.3% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Mississippi.
1,875 to 1
Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Mississippi

Primary care physicians in Mississippi see an average of 1,875 patients per year. This represents a 0.806% increase from the previous year (1,860 patients).

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

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Health Care Diversity

In 2023, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 25.7% under 18 years, 20.9% between 18 and 34 years, 36.5% between 35 and 64 years, and 16.8% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 46.7% were men and 53.3% were women.

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

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Uninsured People

12.2%
Uninsured
39.6%
Employer Coverage
20%
Medicaid
11.9%
Medicare
13.8%
Non-Group
2.62%
Military or VA

Between 2022 and 2023, the percent of uninsured citizens in Columbus, MS grew by 14.6% from 10.6% to 12.2%.

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

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