Columbus, Mississippi demographics

Columbus, MS demographics: median age 41.1; 26.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Columbus city, Mississippi · Incorporated city · GEOID 2815380. The survey estimates a population of 23,348 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Columbus is 41.1 years, with a 90% margin of error of 2.2 years. There are 10,006 households (±441). 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	41.1 ±2.2	38.6 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 23,348
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Mississippi	U.S.
Under 18	4,220 ±554	18.1% ±2.4 pp	23.3%	22.0%
18–34	6,322 ±498	27.1% ±2.1 pp	22.3%	22.8%
35–64	8,019 ±686	34.3% ±2.9 pp	37.2%	38.0%
65 and older	4,787 ±497	20.5% ±2.1 pp	17.2%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 23,348
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Mississippi	U.S.
Male	10,729 ±439	46.0% ±1.9 pp	48.5%	49.5%
Female	12,619 ±436	54.0% ±1.9 pp	51.5%	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: 23,348
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Mississippi	U.S.
White alone	6,943 ±681	29.7% ±2.9 pp	55.8%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	15,075 ±719	64.6% ±3.1 pp	36.4%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	2 ±4 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.9%
Asian alone	374 ±103	1.6% ±0.4 pp	1.0%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±26 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	199 ±157 · low precision	0.9% ±0.7 pp · low precision	1.9%	7.1%
Two or more races	755 ±288	3.2% ±1.2 pp	4.4%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 23,348
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Mississippi	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	22,878 ±177	98.0% ±0.7 pp	96.3%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	470 ±164	2.0% ±0.7 pp	3.7%	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: 10,006
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Mississippi	U.S.
Married-couple family	2,486 ±406	24.8% ±3.9 pp	43.5%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	448 ±170	4.5% ±1.7 pp	4.8%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	2,211 ±400	22.1% ±3.9 pp	17.0%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	4,364 ±453	43.6% ±4.1 pp	30.2%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	497 ±179	5.0% ±1.8 pp	4.5%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 10,006
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Mississippi	U.S.
Households with people under 18	2,123 ±317	21.2% ±3.0 pp	31.1%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	7,883 ±519	78.8% ±3.9 pp	68.9%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 10,006
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Mississippi	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	4,364 ±453	43.6% ±4.1 pp	30.2%	28.7%
Two-person households	3,001 ±481	30.0% ±4.6 pp	33.6%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,547 ±343	15.5% ±3.4 pp	15.6%	15.3%
Four-person households	613 ±228	6.1% ±2.3 pp	11.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	370 ±156	3.7% ±1.6 pp	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	79 ±77 · low precision	0.8% ±0.8 pp · low precision	2.0%	2.2%
Seven or more people	32 ±44 · low precision	0.3% ±0.4 pp · low precision	1.1%	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: 23,348
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Mississippi	U.S.
Native	22,731 ±189	97.4% ±0.8 pp	97.6%	85.9%
Foreign born	617 ±183	2.6% ±0.8 pp	2.4%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 22,112
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Mississippi	U.S.
English only	21,357 ±353	96.6% ±1.1 pp	95.7%	77.7%
Spanish	446 ±229 · low precision	2.0% ±1.0 pp · low precision	2.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	60 ±75 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	0 ±26 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	12 ±28 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	110 ±91 · low precision	0.5% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.3%	2.0%
Korean	8 ±13 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	6 ±11 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.2%	1.1%
Vietnamese	47 ±27 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	22 ±34 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	44 ±66 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.1%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±26 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	0 ±26 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	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: 16,307
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Mississippi	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	1,867 ±402	11.4% ±2.4 pp	12.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	5,442 ±701	33.4% ±4.2 pp	29.9%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	3,677 ±568	22.5% ±3.4 pp	21.2%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,050 ±297	6.4% ±1.8 pp	10.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	2,658 ±469	16.3% ±2.8 pp	15.3%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	1,613 ±383	9.9% ±2.3 pp	9.9%	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: 22,866
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Mississippi	U.S.
Same house	19,989 ±741	87.4% ±3.1 pp	89.1%	87.7%
Moved within same county	1,603 ±525	7.0% ±2.3 pp	5.3%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	355 ±125	1.6% ±0.5 pp	3.1%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	636 ±222	2.8% ±1.0 pp	2.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	283 ±276 · low precision	1.2% ±1.2 pp · low precision	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

11.0% of Columbus residents (±2.4 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 11.0% in Mississippi and 8.4% nationally. 82.4% 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	Columbus	Mississippi	U.S.	Compared with Mississippi
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	11.0% ±2.4 pp	11.0%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	82.4% ±3.2 pp	84.1%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	8.2% ±1.7 pp	6.8%	6.2%	Not statistically different

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 Columbus . 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 Columbus housing and cost context or return to the city profile.