Columbia County, Pennsylvania Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Columbia County, Pennsylvania, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. The estimated population of Columbia County, Pennsylvania is 65,013 people, with a median age of 41.5.

We can look at the total population in Columbia County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
65,013
 -0.58% -2.40%
2020
65,390
 -0.49% -
2019
65,715
 -0.76% -
2018
66,220
 -0.59% -
2017
66,615
 - -

Population of Columbia County, Pennsylvania by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
92.4%
93.4%
 -1.07%
Black/African American
1.6%
1.8%
 -11.11%
Native
0%
0.1%
 -100.00%
Hispanic
3.2%
2.6%
 +23.08%
Asian
1%
1.2%
 -16.67%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0.3%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
1.4%
0.9%
 +55.56%
Other
0.1%
0%
 0.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Columbia County, Pennsylvania by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 41.5 +0.73% 39.9 0% 42.9 +1.18%
2020 41.2 +0.49% 39.9 +0.5% 42.4 +0.24%
2019 41 +0.49% 39.7 0% 42.3 +0.24%
2018 40.8 +0.74% 39.7 +0.51% 42.2 +0.48%
2017 40.5 - 39.5 - 42 -

The median age of Columbia County, Pennsylvania gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 3,035 0.08% 3,293 -18.47% 3,026 2,725
10 to 19 4,480 -2.13% 4,513 +1.35% 4,369 4,573
20 to 29 5,175 -7.18% 5,641 -6.81% 4,813 5,263
30 to 39 3,503 +3.82% 3,375 -6.05% 3,637 3,174
40 to 49 3,976 -8.13% 3,823 -1.7% 3,659 3,753
50 to 59 4,572 -8.12% 4,870 -8.74% 4,210 4,453
60 to 69 3,898 +12.32% 4,182 +8.48% 4,396 4,545
70+ 3,446 +0.78% 4,833 +2.37% 3,471 4,946

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Columbia County, Pennsylvania is $55,572.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Columbia County.

  • Under 25
    $28,750.00
  • 25 to 44
    $70,948.00
  • 45 to 64
    $68,257.00
  • 65 and over
    $37,987.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Columbia County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Columbia County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Columbia County, Pennsylvania is currently $71,178.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

3.71% of households in Columbia County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Columbia County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    21.78%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    24.00%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    18.68%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    13.03%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    14.09%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    4.71%
  • $200,000 or more
    3.71%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Columbia County is $28,895.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Columbia County by the total population of Columbia County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Columbia County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    10.11%
  • Bachelor's degree
    22.27%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    6.44%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    59.41%
  • Less than high school diploma
    1.77%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Columbia County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Columbia County over the age of 16 is 54,830.

Of those people, a total of 57.80% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Columbia County is 54.90%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 4,510 27.00% 27.00%
20 to 24 years 6,611 53.50% 10.20%
25 to 29 years 3,465 88.70% 4.40%
30 to 34 years 3,381 87.50% 2.90%
35 to 44 years 6,913 85.90% 3.10%
45 to 54 years 8,019 80.30% 2.90%
55 to 59 years 4,573 77.30% 4.30%
60 to 64 years 4,535 57.60% 1.50%
65 to 74 years 7,577 27.40% 3.00%
75 years and over 5,246 5.90% 2.30%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Columbia County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 51,753 58.10% 4.70%
Black or African American 964 32.80% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaska Native 20 10.00% 0.00%
Asian 556 67.40% 2.10%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 199 7.50% 0.00%
Other 160 67.50% 6.50%
Two or more races 1,178 68.60% 14.60%
Hispanic or Latino 1,458 66.00% 7.20%
Not Hispanic or Latino 51,040 58.10% 4.70%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Columbia County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Columbia County is 30,093, with median earnings of $37,063.00.

Women in Columbia County, Pennsylvania earning approximately 68.10% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 30,093 $37,063.00
Male 15,176 $45,191.00
Female 14,917 $30,777.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 2,502 $52,708.00
Business and Financial 913 $59,981.00
Computer and Mathematical 740 $51,471.00
Architecture and Engineering 436 $71,024.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 326 $50,208.00
Community and Social Service 488 $40,750.00
Legal 100 $73,214.00
Educational and Library 1,692 $53,272.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 599 $46,007.00
Healthcare Practitioners 2,497 $59,607.00
Healthcare Support 1,100 $26,000.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 168 $41,711.00
Law Enforcement 452 $54,384.00
Food Preparation and Serving 1,649 $10,658.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 1,188 $26,667.00
Personal Care and Service 696 $14,922.00
Sales 2,243 $23,438.00
Office and Administrative Support 3,537 $29,510.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 279 $21,186.00
Construction and Extraction 1,632 $43,293.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 1,578 $48,088.00
Production 2,356 $36,861.00
Transportation and Material Moving 945 $38,197.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 1,521 $51,854.00 981 $54,176.00
Business and Financial 458 $67,298.00 455 $53,259.00
Computer and Mathematical 338 $72,838.00 402 $46,242.00
Architecture and Engineering 387 $71,009.00 49 $85,054.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 159 $57,299.00 167 $40,783.00
Community and Social Service 166 $41,552.00 322 $38,125.00
Legal 50 $84,231.00 50 $41,500.00
Educational and Library 478 $61,087.00 1,214 $45,000.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 304 $45,659.00 295 $50,139.00
Healthcare Practitioners 487 $65,361.00 2,010 $58,857.00
Healthcare Support 116 $28,750.00 984 $25,855.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 158 $42,105.00 10 $16,875.00
Law Enforcement 418 $54,038.00 34 $70,000.00
Food Preparation and Serving 639 $11,563.00 1,010 $10,321.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 623 $30,967.00 565 $16,755.00
Personal Care and Service 120 $21,500.00 576 $14,563.00
Sales 905 $37,888.00 1,338 $19,022.00
Office and Administrative Support 672 $27,448.00 2,865 $29,627.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 83 $26,953.00 196 $20,877.00
Construction and Extraction 1,575 $43,506.00 57 $41,827.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 1,494 $48,845.00 84 $23,525.00
Production 1,722 $43,158.00 634 $28,516.00
Transportation and Material Moving 791 $44,635.00 154 $11,500.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 25,717 households in Columbia County, with an average household size of 2.38 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 15,711 families in Columbia County with an average family size of 2.95 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 11,787 1,258 2,666 10,006
Average Household Size 3 3.36 3.28 1.28
Total Families 11,787 1,258 2,666 0
Average Household Size 2.98 2.69 2.94 0

Poverty

Of the 15,711 families in Columbia County, 9.20% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Columbia County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 29,665 housing units in Columbia County, Pennsylvania.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 25,717 86.69%
Vacant 3,948 13.31%

23.34% of the total 29,665 housing units in Columbia County are rental units. This is approximately 6,923 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 18,085 are occupied by the owner - or 60.96% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Columbia County is $828.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Columbia County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    709
  • Less than $500
    878
  • $500 to $999
    4,237
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    1,342
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    288
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    92
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    86

Property Value

The median value of a property in Columbia County is $161,900.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Columbia County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    1,247
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    2,797
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    3,875
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    3,885
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    3,803
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    1,859
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    527
  • $1,000,000 or more
    92

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Columbia County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Columbia County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    8,282
  • 1940 to 1949
    1,613
  • 1950 to 1959
    2,783
  • 1960 to 1969
    2,869
  • 1970 to 1979
    5,066
  • 1980 to 1989
    3,344
  • 1990 to 1999
    2,454
  • 2000 to 2009
    1,952
  • 2010 to 2013
    1,292
  • 2014 or later
    10

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Columbia County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    1,593
  • 1 vehicle available
    8,418
  • 2 vehicles available
    9,369
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    6,337

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Columbia County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Columbia County that commute to work in a particular way.

21.1 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Columbia County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    790
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    4,088
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    4,787
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    5,174
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    4,263
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    1,856
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    2,491
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    587
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    964
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    1,589
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    708
  • 90 or more minutes
    395

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Columbia County, Pennsylvania in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Columbia County, Pennsylvania

We have data for 48 places in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.