Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,680, settled in 1802.
Columbia gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $161K for a typical one, or 3 years of the county’s $54K median household income. It grades A− overall, 31st of 138 graded towns in Kentucky. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $47K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 88% of U.S. towns. On walkability, just 22 of Kentucky’s 237 towns do better. Columbia is home to Lindsey Wilson College. Columbia's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 94% of U.S. towns.
Where Columbia beats most towns.
Census counts: 175 in 1810, 4,845 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1823 and 2 maps from 1954 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Columbia is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
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 Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Columbia.
Columbia pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Kentucky norm, is shaped by its college students and draws workers from Campbellsville and beyond.
3,039 jobs are based in Columbia, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 15.3 minutes, against 24 across Kentucky.
About one in 3 of Columbia’s working residents works in town. At 15 minutes, Columbia’s average trip to work is against 22 minutes in Kentucky’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Since 2013, Columbia has lost 218 jobs, to 3,039 in 2023.
| Columbia | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 29% | 15% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $47,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Adair County school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Adair County High School, with 805 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adair County Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 559 | B− |
| Adair County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 805 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
29.2% of residents are enrolled in college, against 5.5% statewide, which pulls the median age down.
14% of Columbia residents are under 18, below both the Kentucky town median (22%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). The median age in Columbia is 28.2 years. Columbia has lost 3.3% of its people since 2020, down to 4,680 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Columbia | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 28.2 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 14% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 26% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4 points. Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women.
| Columbia | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.3% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.7% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 32.4% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.5% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.5% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.7% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.9% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.2% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.8% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 19.3% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.3% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.1% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.1% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 7.8% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.4% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,700, single groups can be off by several points
Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
Columbia’s property crime rate is 2.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Columbia | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 per 1,000 residents | 8.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 1.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Columbia grades A− overall with a typical home of about $161K, below the Kentucky typical value; only 7 of the 30 Kentucky towns graded A− or better can say that. The typical value, about $161K, is 15% below its May 2025 peak.
49% of households own their home in Columbia. Typical home values fell 12% in the year to September 2026.
| Columbia | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 49% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $757 a month | $937 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Columbia has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 26° and about 5 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 4,759 U.S. towns with household incomes like Columbia’s, it is healthier than 77%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income. Within Kentucky it is healthier than 59% of the 141 graded towns: much of Kentucky scores lower on these measures.
Columbia beats the Kentucky average on 5 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 44% of Columbia adults sleep under 7 hours. Only 9 of the 141 Kentucky towns we compare have a higher share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Columbia.
| Columbia | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 40% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | Columbia | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.4% | 8.7% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 11.7% | 13.7% |
| More uninsured adults | 7.2% | 5.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 60% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Columbia
College town 29 of every 100 Columbia residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
5 places in Columbia on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Columbia.
City in Kentucky, United States
Columbia is a home rule-class city just above Russell Creek in Adair County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 4,845 at the 2020 census. Columbia is the seat of its county.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Columbia grades A− overall, better than 79% of U.S. towns and #31 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades C+ for health, A for safety and B+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
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−.
8 notable people were born here, including Dakota Meyer and Lance Burton.
