Columbia TownshipGibson County, IN
A town of 3,528. 31% more nonprofits per person than the typical Indiana town.
Is Columbia Township a good place to live?
Columbia Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $131K, 1.9 years of the county’s $68K median household income. It grades A− overall, 143rd of 585 graded towns in Indiana. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns. 14% of the land in Columbia Township is conserved, against 1.9% in Indiana’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Columbia Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 92% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Columbia Mine Preserve, at 513 acres.
What makes Columbia Township stand out
Where Columbia Township beats most towns.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Memorial Primary School | PK–6 | 149 |
| Wood Memorial Middle School | 6–8 | 157 |
| Waldo J Wood Memorial High | 9–12 | 226 |
90% of working residents leave Columbia Township for work
Where Columbia Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Columbia Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Columbia Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Columbia Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Columbia Township, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Columbia Township.
Columbia Township is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
Columbia Township has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs based here fell from 956 in 2013 to 698.
Most working residents leave Columbia Township for work: only 10% work in town. Since 2013, Columbia Township has lost 258 jobs, to 698 in 2023. Columbia Township’s median household income is $55,000, where Indiana’s towns sit at $71,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000.
| Columbia Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $55,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.8% | 11% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Columbia Township’s schools rank ahead of 74% of Indiana districts
Its public schools are run by East Gibson School Corporation. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood Memorial Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 157 | C |
| Waldo J Wood Memorial HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 226 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IN on state tests and graduation
On CDC estimates, Columbia Township is less healthy than 73% of U.S. towns
Against the 7,328 U.S. towns with household incomes like Columbia Township’s, it is healthier than 52%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Columbia Township beats the Indiana average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Columbia Township.
| Columbia Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 26% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Columbia Township | IN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.6% | 8.1% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.8% | 6.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Columbia Township has four seasons and pleasant summers
Columbia Township has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Columbia Township’s July high is 88°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Conserved land covers 13.6% of Columbia Township
1.8 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Management Area | 0.6 mi | 769 |
| 2. Columbia Mine Preserve | 0.3 mi | 513 |
| 3. Pike State Forest | — | 90 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Columbia Township faces a moderate natural-hazard risk, led by earthquakes
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 56% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Everything we know about Columbia Township
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Columbia Township
About 9 of every 100 Columbia Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
About Columbia Township
Township in Indiana, United States
Columbia Township is one of ten townships in Gibson County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,539 (down from 3,830 at 2010) and it contained 1,757 housing units. Oakland City is the township seat. Columbia Township was established in 1825.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 31 sq mi
- Elevation
- 489 ft
- Area code
- 812
Columbia Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Columbia Township.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Township | #143 | A− | A | — | B+ | C |
| Logan Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Center Township | — | — | A | — | B+ | C |
| Patoka Township | #396 | B− | A+ | — | B− | C− |
| Monroe Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Barton Township | — | — | A− | — | B+ | C+ |
Center Township and Barton Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Columbia Township, Center Township, Patoka Township and Barton Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Logan Township and Monroe Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Columbia Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Columbia Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Columbia Township, IN a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Columbia Township grades A− overall, better than 80% of U.S. towns and #143 of 585 in Indiana. It grades C for health and B+ for schools.
Is Columbia Township, IN expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.