Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,235, founded in 1850.
The best of Columbia’s subject grades are an A for walkability and the outdoors; the weakest is a D for incomes. 33% of residents are 65 or older in Columbia, above both the California town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). On incomes, just 74 of California’s 1,056 towns do worse. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 85% of U.S. communities, with wildfire at the top. Columbia is home to Columbia College. Columbia has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Columbia beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Columbia is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1866.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Columbia is unincorporated, so Tuolumne County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Columbia.
The typical Columbia home is worth about $404,000, about the same as a year ago, 47% below the California typical home. Columbia’s median rent is $1,217 a month, where California’s towns sit at $1,896 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month.
| Columbia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,217 a month | $1,896 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Columbia Union school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 464 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Columbia for work: only 4% work in town. Columbia’s median household income is $59,000. Jobs based in Columbia grew to 527 in 2023, 86 more than in 2013.
| Columbia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $59,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.4% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Columbia has mild winters and hot summers. The July high in Columbia is 92°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
5.5 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Columbia State Historic Park, at 154 acres.
| Columbia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.8% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Columbia State Historic Park | 0.3 mi | 154 |
| 2. Pioneer Park | — | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Columbia beats the California average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 39% of Columbia adults have high blood pressure.
| Columbia | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 31% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 36% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Columbia | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.4% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.8% | 14.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.5% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Columbia. Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi National ParkYosemite National Park4.3M visitors a year
35 mi LakeHetch Hetchy
18 mi State parkCalaveras Big Trees State Park
6 mi MuseumRailtown 1897 State Historic Park
27 mi National forestStanislaus National Forest
28 mi Ski areaDodge Ridge Ski Area61 runs · 1,576 ft verticalYosemite National Park: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hetch Hetchy: Vulpinus2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Calaveras Big Trees State Park: John J. O'Brien (talk · contribs), Public domain · Railtown 1897 State Historic Park: Ed Bierman, CC BY 2.0 · Stanislaus National Forest: U.S. National Park Service, Public domain · Dodge Ridge Ski Area: IanGad, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Columbia
About 11 of every 100 Columbia residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
2,297 counted in 2010 and 2,577 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
4 notable people were born in Columbia.
Census-designated place in California, United States
Columbia is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the Sierra Nevada foothills in Tuolumne County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, Columbia had a population of 2,577. It was founded as a boomtown in 1850 when gold was found during the California Gold Rush, and was known as the "Gem of the Southern Mines." The town's historic central district is within the Columbia State Historic Park, which preserves the 19th century mining town legacy. The U.S. historic district is a National Historic Landmark District and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Columbia.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | — | — | C− | — | B− | C+ |
| Tuttletown | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Columbia has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Columbia reports no FBI crime data of its own. Tuttletown isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Columbia with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 5.2 years of the area's median household income ($77,404 across the Sonora, CA area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
4 notable people were born here, including Peter Muldoon and Drew Gagnon.
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