Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 10,865, settled in 1822. Public schools that outperform most of Illinois.
Trash day: look up yoursFew places in the country grade higher. Columbia earns an A, 70th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. The median household earns $108K, its schools rank ahead of 87% of Illinois towns, and it is healthier than 87% of U.S. towns. Its lowest mark, a C+, is in cost of living. 49% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Columbia, against 29% in Illinois’ towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Gundlach-Grosse House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Only 6 of the 768 Illinois towns we compare have a higher midsummer high than Columbia.
Where Columbia beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Parkview Elementary School | 2–4 | 427 |
| Eagleview Elementary School | PK–1 | 259 |
| Immaculate Conception | PK–8 | 400 |
9,707 counted in 2010 and 10,999 in 2020; an estimated 10,865 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Columbia is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 378 in 1850, 10,999 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1933 and 5 maps from 1910 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Columbia. Close and well known come first.
Big draw16 mi State parkCahokia
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaThe Dome at America's Center
11 mi Stadium & arenaBusch Stadium
11 mi National ParkGateway Arch National Park2.2M visitors a year
16 mi LandmarkMonks Mound
25 mi Theme parkMid America AdventureCahokia: Thank You (24 Millions ) views, CC BY 2.0 · The Dome at America's Center: Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0 · Busch Stadium: Lee Ann Ratledge, CC BY 4.0 · Gateway Arch National Park: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Monks Mound: Skubasteve834, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mid America Adventure: Chris Hagerman from New Port Richey, FL, US, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Columbia, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Columbia.
Columbia sends many workers across the state line to Creve Coeur and has less food insecurity than most of Illinois.
Trails total 9.0 miles in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Bolm Schukraft Park, at 49 acres. The trail network density in Columbia is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Columbia | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.2% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Meadow Ridge Park | 0.5 mi | 10 |
| 2. Metter Park | 0.3 mi | 3 |
| 3. Bolm Schukraft Park | 0.1 mi | 49 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Three of the 5 schools are below, and why each made the list. The largest public high school is Columbia High School, with 606 students. Columbia CUSD 4 runs its public schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 612 | A− |
| Columbia High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 606 | A |
| Parkview Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades 2–4 | Grades 2–4 | 427 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Illinois is food insecurity: 8.4% of its 8,325 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.9% statewide.
A fifth of adults binge drink in Columbia. CDC measures, 32 in all: Columbia beats Illinois on 14 and trails on 1. Two figures for adults here: 18% get no exercise outside work, 11% report frequent physical distress.
| Columbia | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 23% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Columbia | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.4% | 15.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.3% | 9.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
50% of working residents cross a state line to work, Creve Coeur among the top destinations.
The top destinations are St. Louis (14%), Belleville (5%) and Waterloo (3%). For most workers, Columbia is a place to come home to: only 13% work in town. In Columbia, 5.4% of residents live below the poverty line.
| Columbia | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $108,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.4% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Work from home | 13% | 11% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Columbia’s January low stands at 24°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 2.6% in value. For households in Columbia, the share who live in a home they own is 82%. In Columbia, 67% of sales closed above the list price.
| Columbia | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 82% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,128 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Federal aid has come to Columbia households in 3 declared disasters; the latest was in 2023. Compared with 53% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage locally is lower. Expected losses in Columbia break down as 25% from inland flooding and 24% from heat waves. The town has had 5 paid flood insurance claims since 1993.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
15 within 15 miles of the center of Columbia
About 5 of every 100 Columbia residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Where Columbia’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
6 notable people were born in Columbia.
City in Illinois, United States
Columbia is a city mainly in Monroe County with a small portion in St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Illinois, about 12 miles (19 km) south of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 10,999 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Columbia.
Columbia reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Columbia with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Columbia grades A overall, better than 94% of U.S. towns and #70 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health and A for schools.
That is 4.3 years of the area's median household income ($80,196 across the St. Louis, MO-IL metro 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+.
6 notable people were born here, including John Freitag and Caden Glover.
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