Columbia is a very small city located in the state of Kentucky. With a population of 4,880 people and seven associated neighborhoods, Columbia is the 89th largest community in Kentucky.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Columbia is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Columbia is a city of sales and office workers, professionals, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Columbia who work in sales jobs (12.91%), office and administrative support (12.18%), and healthcare (7.27%). One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 16.81% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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. Columbia is a small town where college students really create the town feel and character. So many small towns have lost population over the last 20-30 years that having the local college presence in the Columbia area, with all of the energy of the students filling area dorms and apartments each fall, really helps Columbia maintain a good economy. Columbia’s overall crime rate ranks among the lowest in the nation, making it a very safe place to live. One of the benefits of Columbia is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 18.18 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result. Columbia is a small city, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.The education level of Columbia citizens, measured as those with bachelor's degrees or advanced degrees, is similar to the national average for all American cities and towns. 19.83% of adults 25 and older in Columbia have a college degree. The per capita income in Columbia in 2022 was $28,077, which is middle income relative to Kentucky, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $112,308 for a family of four. However, Columbia contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Columbia is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. 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 English, German, Irish, Scots-Irish, and Croatian. The most common language spoken in Columbia is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
