Photo: Akhenaton06 · CC BY-SA 3.0Columbia draws 113,412 commuters a day, with 2.8 jobs for every working resident
132,487 jobs are based in Columbia for 47,955 working residents. For jobs and income Columbia is better than 24% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (A+). Measured by household income, Columbia is behind 81% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Columbia apart on work
Columbia is where the jobs are
Columbia has 132,487 jobs, 2.8 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 232,000 people are in town, 57% more than the 147,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Columbia draws workers from far and wide
The 132,487 jobs in Columbia are filled from a wide area. Columbia’s own residents hold 14% and the ten next-biggest home towns 14%; the other 72% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Columbia are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 26 across South Carolina. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical South Carolina worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Columbia
Job access by car holds Columbia’s grade up (ahead of 84% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (24.0%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Columbia could be anywhere from C− to C.
Columbia fills up on a workday
On a workday 28,880 residents head out to work and 19,075 work right here.
About 232,000 people are in Columbia on a workday afternoon, 57% more 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.
Where Columbia’s workforce comes from
Where Columbia clocks in
2% of workers
2% of workers
2% 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.
About 18 minutes to work from Columbia
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Columbia workers work from home, vs 12% across South Carolina. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 61,790 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across South Carolina: 86% drive alone, <1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Most jobs in Columbia are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Columbia, 2013 → 2023: 124,071 → 132,487. 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.
The distance from Columbia to work
About 21% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 69,916 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 80% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 34% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 9.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 93% 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). 11.5% of Columbia households have no vehicle (South Carolina 5.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Columbia’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Where Columbia sits among U.S. towns of 103,000 to 198,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 2 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Fishers IN | 104,812 | $130K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Charleston SC | 159,423 | $92K | 12.3% | 3.4% | 42% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 152 | North Charleston SC | 129,245 | $63K | 14.4% | 4.3% | 34% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 220 | Allentown PA | 126,044 | $55K | 21.0% | 9.0% | 16% | C− |
| 221 | New Haven CT | 138,774 | $57K | 23.9% | 8.4% | 43% | C− |
| 222 | Columbia SC | 147,035 | $56K | 24.0% | 7.5% | 40% | C− |
| 223 | Victorville CA | 141,395 | $74K | 18.4% | 11.1% | 17% | C− |
| 224 | Lansing MI | 113,884 | $54K | 20.1% | 8.2% | 32% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 238 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 South Carolina.
Columbia and its neighbors: 10% work next door
The biggest share goes to Forest Acres (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Columbia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | – | C− | A+ | 18 min | $55,529 |
| St. Andrews | under 2% | C− | A− | 22 min | $46,511 |
| Capitol View | under 2% | C | A | 20 min | $46,645 |
| Forest Acres | 2% | B+ | A− | 20 min | $78,306 |
| Dentsville | 2% | C | A | 23 min | $45,473 |
| Olympia | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Arthurtown | under 2% | C− | B− | 19 min | $21,046 |
| West Columbia | 2% | C+ | B+ | 20 min | $56,912 |
| Seven Oaks | 2% | C+ | B | 20 min | $62,955 |
| Irmo | under 2% | B− | B | 24 min | $80,489 |
| Woodfield | 2% | C− | B+ | 23 min | $45,526 |
Same-state neighbors only. Olympia: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. 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?
$55,529 (±$1,827) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,324 across South Carolina and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Columbia?
24.0%, against 14.1% across South Carolina and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Columbia?
18 minutes each way on average, against 26 across South Carolina and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Columbia work?
40% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are West Columbia (2%, 12 mi), Cayce (2%, 10 mi), Forest Acres (2%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Columbia walkable?
Columbia is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.0 out of 20, and 18% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Columbia without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 34% 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.