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Columbia, NC

This is a small community in a single neighborhood. As throughout the site, some neighborhood-level data are reserved for subscribers.





Overview


Columbia is a tiny coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of North Carolina. With a population of 605 people and just one neighborhood, Columbia is the 461st largest community in North Carolina. Much of the housing stock in Columbia was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic towns in the country.

Occupations and Workforce

Columbia is neither predominantly blue-collar nor white-collar, instead having a mixed workforce of both blue-collar and white-collar jobs. Overall, Columbia is a town of professionals, service providers, and construction workers and builders. There are especially a lot of people living in Columbia who work in community and social services (30.41%), maintenance occupations (21.96%), and food service (8.11%).

Setting & Lifestyle

It is a fairly quiet town because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Columbia has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Columbia has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Columbia than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Columbia may be for you.

One of the nice things about Columbia is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

In Columbia, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 34.76 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average.

As is often the case in a small town, Columbia doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.

Demographics

In terms of college education, the citizens of Columbia rank slightly lower than the national average. 14.37% of adults 25 and older in Columbia have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree, while 21.84% of adults have a 4-year degree or higher in the average American community.

The per capita income in Columbia in 2022 was $20,469, which is low income relative to North Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $81,876 for a family of four.

Columbia is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Columbia home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Columbia residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Columbia also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 30.83% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Columbia include English, Scottish, Italian, Irish, and German.

Columbia also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 17.52%.

The most common language spoken in Columbia is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.

Real Estate

This neighborhood has wide open spaces, few people, and lots of space to stretch out. If you like locations that fit that description, you may like this neighborhood. Based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis, with only 8 people per square mile living here, this neighborhood is less crowded than 97.4% of America. is a neighborhood that is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Many times, such places have amenities that bring locals and visitors to the waterfront for recreational activities or to check out the scenery. In some densely populated areas that are less financially well-off, the neighborhood waterfront can be relatively industrial and less open to recreation. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of.

In addition, despite all of the residential real estate here in the neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 30.6%, which is higher than 95.6% of all U.S. neighborhoods.

Modes of Transportation

In the neighborhood, carpooling is still a popular way to get to and from work. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that 25.4% of commuters carpool here, which is more than in 97.0% of all U.S. neighborhoods.

Occupations

Each year, fewer and fewer Americans make their living as farmers, foresters, or fishers. But the neighborhood truly stands out among U.S. neighborhoods. According to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, this neighborhood has a greater proportion of farmers, foresters, or fishers than 96.4% of all American neighborhoods. This is truly a unique cultural characteristic of this neighborhood.

Diversity

Did you know that the neighborhood has more Scottish ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 5.0% of this neighborhood's residents have Scottish ancestry.

The Neighbors

How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.

The neighbors in the neighborhood in Columbia are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 91.8% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 37.4% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 87.9% of U.S. neighborhoods.

What we choose to do for a living reflects who we are. Each neighborhood has a different mix of occupations represented, and together these tell you about the neighborhood and help you understand if this neighborhood may fit your lifestyle.

In the neighborhood, 31.2% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 25.7% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (21.8%), and 17.0% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.

Languages

The languages spoken by people in this neighborhood are diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 91.8% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.

In the neighborhood in Columbia, NC, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as English (12.6%). There are also a number of people of Mexican ancestry (7.0%), and residents who report Irish roots (5.9%), and some of the residents are also of Scottish ancestry (5.0%), along with some German ancestry residents (3.6%), among others.

Getting to Work

How you get to work – car, bus, train or other means – and how much of your day it takes to do so is a large quality of life and financial issue. Especially with gasoline prices rising and expected to continue doing so, the length and means of one's commute can be a financial burden. Some neighborhoods are physically located so that many residents have to drive in their own car, others are set up so many walk to work, or can take a train, bus, or bike. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend between 45 minutes and one hour commuting one-way to work (41.2% of working residents), longer and tougher than most commutes in America.

Here most residents (65.6%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (25.4%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.


Real Estate includes:
Average Home Values
Rental Market
Housing Market Details
Neighborhood Setting
Economics & Demographics include:
Lifestyle & Special Character
Household Types
Commute To Work
Migration & Mobility
Race & Ethnic Diversity
Employment Industries & Occupations
Income & Unemployment Rate
Higher Education Attainment
Crime includes:
Neighborhood Crime Index
Crimes Per Square Mile
Property Crime Comparison
Violent Crime Comparison
Schools include:
School Ratings
Schools In District
Public School Test Scores
School District Enrollment
Educational Expenditures

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