Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For a city of 130,851, Columbia does unevenly: it grades C+, 142nd of 247 graded towns in Missouri. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 85% of U.S. towns. The trade-off: its crime rate is higher than 81% of U.S. towns, with 471 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. 69% of working residents work locally in Columbia, above both the Missouri town median (13%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Sanborn Field and Soil Erosion Plots and John W. Boone House. Only 15 of Missouri’s 419 towns score higher on the outdoors.
Where Columbia beats most towns.
Sanborn Field and Soil Erosion PlotsSanborn Field and Soil Erosion Plots is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier. Its 42 National Register listings are more than in 95% of Missouri towns with a listing.
Census counts: 600 in 1830, 126,254 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1869 and 6 maps from 1935 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), 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 is shaped by its college students, draws workers from Jefferson City and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
92 miles of trail in 75 parks and preserves. Columbia’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Cosmo Park, 508 acres with 14.7 miles of trail.
| Columbia | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.9% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cosmo Park | 14.7 mi | 508 |
| 2. Gans Creek Recreation Area | 7.3 mi | 316 |
| 3. Grindstone Nature Area | 5 mi | 240 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Columbia 93 school district. Three of its 52 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ann Hawkins Gentry Mid. SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 736 | B |
| David H. Hickman HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,007 | B− |
| Mill Creek Elem.Top results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 583 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
88,533 jobs are based in Columbia, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 16.4 minutes, against 23.5 across Missouri.
The average trip to work in Columbia is 16 minutes. Jobs based in Columbia grew to 88,533 in 2023, 14,570 more than in 2013. 19% of Columbia residents live below the poverty line.
| Columbia | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 10% | 9% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 3,755 to 2,946 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Columbia reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 81% report less.
| Columbia | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 18.7 per 1,000 residents | 12.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 10,144 U.S. towns with household incomes like Columbia’s, it is healthier than 90%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Columbia beats the Missouri average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 28% of adults have high blood pressure in Columbia.
| Columbia | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 37% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.5% | 12% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 38% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | Columbia | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.5% | 6.8% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.5% | 3.6% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 10.9% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Columbia home is worth about $322,000, up 2.5% in a year, 21% above the Missouri typical home.
| Columbia | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 49% | 64% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 51% | 43% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,097 a month | $970 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Columbia has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 21° and about 17 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 72 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Columbia.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Columbia. Close and well known come first.
in town Stadium & arenaFaurot Field
in town MuseumState Historical Society of Missouri
21 mi MuseumNational Churchill Museumin town MuseumMuseum of Art and Archaeologyin town GardenMcAlester Arboretum
in town GardenMizzou Botanic GardenFaurot Field: Mitchell3417 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · State Historical Society of Missouri: Grey Wanderer, CC BY-SA 4.0 · National Churchill Museum: Ammodramus, CC0 · Mizzou Botanic Garden: Unknown, Public domain
3 within 15 miles of the center of Columbia
College town 22 of every 100 Columbia residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
108,500 counted in 2010 and 126,254 in 2020; an estimated 130,851 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
42 places in Columbia on the National Register of Historic Places.
51 notable people were born in Columbia.
City in Missouri, U.S.
Columbia is a city in Boone County, Missouri, United States, and its county seat. It was founded in 1821 and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the fourth-most-populous city in Missouri. Columbia is a Midwestern college town, home to the University of Missouri, a major research institution also known as MU or Mizzou. In addition to the university and surrounding downtown Columbia are Stephens College and Columbia College, giving the city its educational focus and nearly 40,000 college students. It is the principal city of the Columbia metropolitan area, population 215,811, and the central city of the nine-county Columbia–Jefferson City–Moberl…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Columbia grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #142 of 247 in Missouri. It grades B+ for health, C− for safety and B− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($72,340 across the Columbia, MO 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.
51 notable people were born here, including Norbert Wiener and Jessica Capshaw.
.jpg){kind=link}
