Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Columbia earns a D, 995th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania, mostly because of schools and health. Its schools rank behind 92% of the state's. Residents are less healthy than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. One bright spot: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 94% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns, with 5 places on the National Register. 21% of residents live below the poverty line in Columbia, above both Pennsylvania’s towns (7.6%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 6 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns score higher on history.
Where Columbia beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Bachman and Forry Tobacco Warehouse| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Park El Sch | K–4 | 511 |
| Our Lady of the Angels School | PK–8 | 117 |
| Columbia MS Hill Campus | 7–8 | 202 |
Census counts: 1,891 in 1820, 10,207 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1809 and 5 maps from 1908 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Columbia is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Columbia. Close and well known come first.
20 mi Theme parkHersheypark3.0M visitors a year
38 mi National MonumentCarlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument
15 mi Theme parkDutch Wonderland
20 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark Stadium
20 mi MuseumHershey's Chocolate World
19 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark ArenaHersheypark: Michael Gray, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Dutch Wonderland: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hersheypark Stadium: 45BearsFan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hershey's Chocolate World: Phillyfan0419, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hersheypark Arena: Hersheyarena4ever at English Wikipedia, Public domain
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 has home values climbing faster than Pennsylvania’s and is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s; it also has poverty well above the Pennsylvania rate.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 511 | C− |
| Columbia HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 397 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
12% of Columbia adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. Columbia beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 13. 22% of Columbia adults smoke cigarettes.
| Columbia | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 19% | 19% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 36% |
| What stands out | Columbia | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 12.1% | 5.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 23% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.7% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.4 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves.
| Columbia | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Glatfelter Memorial Field | — | 14 |
| 2. Jansen Park | — | 4 |
| 3. Columbia River Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 80% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 47 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Columbia.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Columbia for work: only 9% work in town. The median household income in Columbia is $54,000. Since 2013, Columbia has lost 272 jobs, to 2,282 in 2023.
| Columbia | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 5.9% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.3% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 29.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 88% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 259 to 149 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Columbia’s property crime rate is 12.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Columbia | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12.4 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.8 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Columbia has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 22° and about 21 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Home values rose 40% in five years, to about $290K, against 23% across Pennsylvania.
The typical Columbia home is worth about $290,000, up 4.3% in a year, close to the Pennsylvania typical home. 53% of households own their home in Columbia.
| Columbia | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 53% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,075 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
11 within 15 miles of the center of Columbia
About 2 of every 100 Columbia residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Where Columbia’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 places in Columbia on the National Register of Historic Places.
13 notable people were born in Columbia.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Columbia, formerly Wright's Ferry, is a borough (town) in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 10,222. It is 28 miles (45 km) southeast of Harrisburg, on the east (left) bank of the Susquehanna River, across from Wrightsville and York County and just south of U.S. Route 30. The settlement was founded in 1726 by Colonial English Quakers from Chester County, led by entrepreneur and evangelist John Wright. Establishment of the eponymous Wright's Ferry, the first commercial Susquehanna crossing in the region, inflamed territorial conflict with neighboring Maryland but brought growth and prosperity to the small town, which was just a few vo…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Columbia.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | #995 | D | B− | C | D | D |
| West Hempfield Township | #216 | A | B | — | A− | B |
| Manor Township | #309 | A− | C | A | A− | B |
West Hempfield Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Columbia with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Columbia grades D overall, better than 12% of U.S. towns and #995 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades D for health, C for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 3.3 years of the area's median household income ($86,959 across the Lancaster, PA 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 B−.
13 notable people were born here, including Lilian Welsh and Florence Hinkle.
