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, Columbia isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Columbia are a mix 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%). A relatively large number of people in Columbia telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 16.81% 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. Columbia is a place where college students are a big part of the character and culture of the town. Small towns have often struggled with declining populations over the past few decades, but the presence of such a large college student population has helped Columbia to fight this trend. Not only does the college population add spending and jobs to local economy, but it also contributes a very tangible, youthful energy to the town. Columbia’s overall crime rate ranks among the lowest in the nation, making it a very safe place to live. Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Columbia spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 18.18 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be. Being a small city, Columbia does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.The percentage of adults in Columbia who are college-educated is close to the national average for all communities of 21.84%: 19.83% of the adults in Columbia have a bachelor's degree or advanced 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.
