Photo: Joseph E. B. Elliot · Public domainColumbia has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
Household incomes here are lower than in 82% of U.S. towns. Employers in Columbia report 2,282 jobs; 5,002 of its residents have a job. For jobs and income Columbia is better than 42% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (A).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Columbia
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Columbia
Job access by car holds Columbia’s grade up (ahead of 81% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (21.4%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Columbia could be anywhere from C to B.
8% of working residents work in East Hempfield Township
Where Columbia clocks in
8% of workers
6% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Columbia
On a workday 4,538 residents head out to work, 464 work right here, and 1,818 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,600 people are in Columbia on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Columbia works in goods: 33% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Columbia, 2013 → 2023: 2,554 → 2,282. 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.
Columbia’s commute takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Columbia workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,783 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Pennsylvania: 81% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far Columbia’s workers travel
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 more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,085 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 69% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 28% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 63% 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). 13.4% of Columbia households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Columbia’s commuters take a bus or train.
Columbia next to U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000: 1,917th of 2,878 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Bethel Township PA | 9,774 | $177K | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Upper Nazareth Township PA | 8,521 | $122K | 1.2% | 0.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Upper Uwchlan Township PA | 13,681 | $191K | 1.6% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | Putnam CT | 9,402 | $71K | 11.5% | 4.4% | 22% | C+ |
| 1,916 | Great Barrington MA | 7,239 | $84K | 9.2% | 5.0% | 32% | C+ |
| 1,917 | Columbia PA | 10,314 | $54K | 21.4% | 3.2% | 9% | C+ |
| 1,918 | Brownhelm Township OH | 8,053 | $62K | 7.8% | 6.8% | 5% | C+ |
| 1,919 | North College Hill OH | 9,544 | $65K | 20.6% | 4.6% | 3% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Pennsylvania.
Next door to Columbia
The biggest share goes to West Hempfield Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Columbia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | – | C+ | A | 24 min | $54,437 |
| West Hempfield Township | 5% | A | C+ | 25 min | $98,099 |
| Manor Township | 2% | A− | C | 25 min | $89,917 |
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?
$54,437 (±$7,615) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Columbia?
21.4%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Columbia?
24 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Columbia work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are East Hempfield Township (8%, 7 mi), Lancaster (7%, 10 mi), Manheim Township (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Columbia walkable?
Columbia is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.6 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Columbia without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. 28% 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.