Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0Fewer people are out of work in Columbia (1.4%) than in 91% of U.S. towns
About one in seven stay in Columbia for work; outside it, St. Louis is the main destination (14%, 12 miles). Columbia grades A+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 82% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Inside Columbia’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Columbia is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #45 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Columbia’s grade. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Columbia could be anywhere from A to A+.
The daily flow of workers through Columbia
On a workday 4,846 residents head out to work, 719 work right here, and 2,375 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,400 people are in Columbia on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.56 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where people from Columbia work
Where Columbia clocks in
14% of workers
5% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The kinds of work in Columbia
3,094 jobs are based in Columbia.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Columbia, 2013 → 2023: 3,255 → 3,094. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Columbia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Columbia: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Columbia workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,275 commuters (the 13% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Near or far: the trip to work from Columbia
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Few in Columbia walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Columbia is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #473 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,030 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.7% of Columbia households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Columbia’s commuters take a bus or train.
Columbia places 159th of 2,507 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 157 | Rehoboth MA | 13,567 | $138K | 3.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| 158 | Oakbrook KY | 10,211 | $95K | 2.5% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 159 | Columbia IL | 10,865 | $108K | 5.4% | 1.4% | 13% | A+ |
| 160 | West Caldwell Township NJ | 11,205 | $158K | 3.6% | 3.9% | 6% | A+ |
| 161 | Scituate RI | 10,767 | $112K | 5.0% | 1.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Columbia, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
How Columbia compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Columbia’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Columbia: questions
What is the median household income in Columbia?
$107,606 (±$11,510) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Columbia?
5.4%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Columbia?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Columbia work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (14%, 12 mi), Belleville (5%, 13 mi), Waterloo (3%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Columbia walkable?
Columbia is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Columbia without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Columbia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Columbia
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.