Oakland Mills Blacksmith House and Shop · Photo: FlugKerl2 · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Columbia top those of 92% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 7.5% (Maryland 9.4%). Jobs and income earn Columbia A; getting around on foot earns it A. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 8.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 26.3 in Baltimore.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Columbia and work: the main findings
Columbia is where the jobs are
Columbia has 78,086 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Columbia draws workers from far and wide
The 78,086 jobs in Columbia are filled from a wide area. Columbia’s own residents hold 10% and the ten next-biggest home towns 24%; the other 66% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
The biggest group of Columbia’s workers comes from Baltimore
5,451 of the people who work in Columbia live in Baltimore, 15 miles away, more than from any other town. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How Columbia earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Columbia is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #98 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 94% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Columbia could be anywhere from A− to A.
Columbia by day and by night
On a workday 38,714 residents head out to work, 8,009 work right here, and 70,077 people come in from elsewhere.
About 136,000 people are in Columbia on a workday afternoon, 30% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Commuting in to Columbia: where workers come from
Where Columbia clocks in
12% of workers
5% 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.
70% of the jobs in Columbia pay over $3,333 a month
78,086 jobs are based in Columbia.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Columbia, 2013 → 2023: 74,733 → 78,086. 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.
Commuting from Columbia: about 28 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Columbia workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 42,019 commuters (the 25% who work from home are left out). Across Maryland: 80% drive alone, 5% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The distance from Columbia to work
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.
Columbia is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Columbia is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #91 of 261 in Maryland. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.0% across Maryland.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 55,854 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 86% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 32% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 8.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 92% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.8% of Columbia households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Columbia’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
For jobs and income, Columbia is 65th of 409 U.S. towns of 73,000 to 141,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Ellicott City MD | 75,257 | $157K | 3.7% | 3.0% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | West Jordan UT | 116,812 | $108K | 6.1% | 3.8% | 10% | A |
| 64 | The Woodlands TX | 121,002 | $141K | 5.6% | 4.9% | 15% | A |
| 65 | Columbia MD | 104,338 | $131K | 7.5% | 4.2% | 17% | A |
| 66 | Milton Township IL | 119,815 | $121K | 6.8% | 4.6% | 15% | A |
| 67 | Lakewood CA | 78,010 | $119K | 5.8% | 5.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 121 | Germantown MD | 90,719 | $118K | 8.8% | 5.6% | 8% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 149 | Frederick MD | 92,059 | $97K | 9.2% | 3.9% | 24% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 409 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | 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 Maryland.
Next door to Columbia
The biggest share goes to Ellicott City (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Columbia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | – | A | A | 28 min | $131,490 |
| Scaggsville | under 2% | A+ | B− | 30 min | $207,220 |
| Ellicott City | 3% | A+ | B | 28 min | $156,964 |
| Ilchester | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 28 min | $152,103 |
| North Laurel | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 28 min | $122,949 |
| Savage | under 2% | A | B | 24 min | $116,895 |
| Jessup | 1% | A− | B+ | 27 min | $128,851 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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?
$131,490 (±$5,734) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Columbia?
7.5%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Columbia?
28 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Columbia work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baltimore (12%, 15 mi), Washington (5%, 22 mi), Fulton (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Columbia walkable?
Columbia is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.4 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Columbia without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 32% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
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.