Columbia is a larger medium-sized town located in the state of Maryland. With a population of 88,391 people and ten constituent neighborhoods, Columbia is the second largest community in Maryland.

Columbia is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 93.47% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Columbia is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Columbia who work in management occupations (14.43%), office and administrative support jobs (11.26%), and sales jobs (10.68%).

Also of interest is that Columbia has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

One thing noticeable about Columbia, although not a huge town, is that it has a large population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters. That's because Columbia is full of single people in their 20s and 30s and who have undergraduate or graduate degrees and are starting careers in professional occupations. This makes Columbia a pretty good place for young, educated career starters looking to find many people like themselves, with good opportunities for friendships, socializing, romance, and fun.

In addition to being popular with young singles, Columbia is also home to many people who can be described as "urban sophisticates." While both of these categories describe educated professionals, urban sophisticates are quite a different demographic. Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness.' But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.

Because of many things, Columbia is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Columbia a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The town's good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Columbia has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Columbia's overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

Columbia has public transportation that is used by many people for their daily commute to and from work: primarily, this consists of people taking the bus.

Columbia Information and Demographics

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Columbia. 59.03% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 14.96%.

The per capita income in Columbia in 2000 was $32,833, which is wealthy relative to Maryland and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $131,332 for a family of four. However, Columbia contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Columbia is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Columbia home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Columbia is White, followed by African-American. Important ancestries of people in Columbia include German, English, Irish, Italian, Polish, and Russian.

The most common language spoken in Columbia is English. Some people also speak Spanish.