Columbia, South Carolina demographics

Columbia, SC demographics: median age 28.6; 45.9% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Columbia city, South Carolina · Incorporated city · GEOID 4516000. The survey estimates a population of 139,643 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Columbia is 28.6 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.6 years. There are 53,076 households (±1,243). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	28.6 ±0.6	40.2 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 139,643
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Carolina	U.S.
Under 18	23,782 ±1,338	17.0% ±1.0 pp	21.4%	22.0%
18–34	60,054 ±2,188	43.0% ±1.6 pp	22.0%	22.8%
35–64	39,724 ±1,590	28.4% ±1.1 pp	37.7%	38.0%
65 and older	16,083 ±871	11.5% ±0.6 pp	18.9%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 139,643
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Carolina	U.S.
Male	68,727 ±1,301	49.2% ±0.9 pp	48.7%	49.5%
Female	70,916 ±1,301	50.8% ±0.9 pp	51.3%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 139,643
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Carolina	U.S.
White alone	65,549 ±2,057	46.9% ±1.5 pp	63.3%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	56,714 ±2,401	40.6% ±1.7 pp	24.8%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	262 ±113	0.2% ±0.1 pp	0.4%	0.9%
Asian alone	4,545 ±843	3.3% ±0.6 pp	1.8%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	326 ±279 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	2,950 ±657	2.1% ±0.5 pp	2.8%	7.1%
Two or more races	9,297 ±1,226	6.7% ±0.9 pp	6.8%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 139,643
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Carolina	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	130,992 ±1,009	93.8% ±0.7 pp	92.6%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	8,651 ±991	6.2% ±0.7 pp	7.4%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 53,076
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Carolina	U.S.
Married-couple family	15,286 ±726	28.8% ±1.2 pp	47.1%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	1,663 ±318	3.1% ±0.6 pp	4.5%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	7,933 ±571	14.9% ±1.0 pp	13.4%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	20,942 ±1,412	39.5% ±2.5 pp	29.2%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	7,252 ±756	13.7% ±1.4 pp	5.8%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 53,076
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Carolina	U.S.
Households with people under 18	12,351 ±707	23.3% ±1.2 pp	28.6%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	40,725 ±1,508	76.7% ±2.2 pp	71.4%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 53,076
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Carolina	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	20,942 ±1,412	39.5% ±2.5 pp	29.2%	28.7%
Two-person households	17,162 ±1,301	32.3% ±2.3 pp	36.3%	33.8%
Three-person households	7,474 ±740	14.1% ±1.4 pp	15.4%	15.3%
Four-person households	4,824 ±571	9.1% ±1.1 pp	11.6%	12.6%
Five-person households	1,864 ±401	3.5% ±0.8 pp	5.0%	5.9%
Six-person households	611 ±247	1.2% ±0.5 pp	1.7%	2.2%
Seven or more people	199 ±112 · low precision	0.4% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.9%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 139,643
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Carolina	U.S.
Native	131,567 ±1,028	94.2% ±0.7 pp	94.2%	85.9%
Foreign born	8,076 ±1,027	5.8% ±0.7 pp	5.8%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 132,231
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Carolina	U.S.
English only	120,754 ±1,164	91.3% ±0.7 pp	91.6%	77.7%
Spanish	5,363 ±658	4.1% ±0.5 pp	5.3%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	479 ±204	0.4% ±0.2 pp	0.3%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	307 ±103	0.2% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	201 ±104 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	1,636 ±479	1.2% ±0.4 pp	0.8%	2.0%
Korean	297 ±184 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	636 ±254	0.5% ±0.2 pp	0.2%	1.1%
Vietnamese	290 ±166 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	309 ±255 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	796 ±267	0.6% ±0.2 pp	0.4%	1.1%
Arabic	574 ±419 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	589 ±234	0.4% ±0.2 pp	0.3%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 79,609
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Carolina	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	6,982 ±723	8.8% ±0.9 pp	9.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	15,700 ±1,140	19.7% ±1.4 pp	28.2%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	14,534 ±1,290	18.3% ±1.6 pp	19.8%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	5,852 ±662	7.4% ±0.8 pp	10.0%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	19,434 ±1,166	24.4% ±1.4 pp	19.8%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	17,107 ±1,126	21.5% ±1.4 pp	12.3%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 138,226
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	South Carolina	U.S.
Same house	94,811 ±2,230	68.6% ±1.6 pp	87.2%	87.7%
Moved within same county	13,909 ±1,387	10.1% ±1.0 pp	5.5%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	12,501 ±1,324	9.0% ±1.0 pp	3.1%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	14,856 ±1,316	10.7% ±1.0 pp	3.7%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	2,149 ±561	1.6% ±0.4 pp	0.4%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

7.7% of Columbia residents (±0.8 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 9.6% in South Carolina and 8.4% nationally. 88.5% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Columbia	South Carolina	U.S.	Compared with South Carolina
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	7.7% ±0.8 pp	9.6%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	88.5% ±1.3 pp	88.8%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	7.1% ±0.8 pp	8.3%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Columbia . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Columbia housing and cost context or return to the city profile.