Colombia, South Carolina
The city is located just northwest of the geographic center of South Carolina and was the center of population of South Carolina in 2020. It is also the primary city of the Midlands region of the state. It lies at the confluence of the Saluda River and the Broad River, which merge at Columbia to form the Congaree River. As the state capital, Columbia is the site of the South Carolina State House, the center of government for the state. In 1860, the South Carolina Secession Convention took place in Columbia; delegates voted for secession, making South Carolina the first state to leave the Union in the events leading up to the Civil War.
Columbia is home to the University of South Carolina, the state's flagship public university and the largest in the state. The area has benefited from Congressional support for Southern military installations. Columbia is the site of Fort Jackson, the largest United States Army installation for Basic Combat Training. Twenty miles to the east of the city is McEntire Joint National Guard Base, which is operated by the U.S. Air Force and is used as a training base for the 169th Fighter Wing of the South Carolina Air National Guard.
History
Early history
In May 1540, a Spanish expedition led by Hernando de Soto traversed what is now Columbia while moving northward on exploration of the interior of the Southeast. The expedition produced the earliest written historical records of this area, which was part of the regional Cofitachequi chiefdom of the Mississippian culture.
During the colonial era, European settlers encountered the Congaree in this area, who inhabited several villages along the Congaree River. The settlers established a frontier fort and fur trading post named after the Congaree, on the west bank of the Congaree River. It was at the fall line and the head of navigation in the Santee River system.
In 1754 the colonial government in South Carolina established a ferry to connect the fort with the growing European settlements on the higher ground on the east bank.
Like many other significant early settlements in colonial America, Columbia is on the fall line of the Piedmont region. The fall line is often marked by rapids at the places where the river cuts sharply down to lower levels in the Tidewater or Low Country of the coastal plain. Beyond the fall line, the river is unnavigable for boats sailing upstream. Entrepreneurs and later industrialists established mills in such areas, as the water flowing downriver, often over falls, provided power to run equipment.
Designation as state capital
After the American Revolutionary War and United States independence, State Senator John Lewis Gervais of the town of Ninety Six introduced a bill that was approved by the legislature on March 22, 1786, to create a new state capital. Considerable argument occurred over the name for the new city. According to published accounts, Senator Gervais said he hoped that "in this town we should find refuge under the wings of COLUMBIA", for that was the name which he wished it to be called. One legislator insisted on the name "Washington", but "Columbia" won by a vote of 11–7 in the state senate.
The site was chosen as the new state capital in 1786 due to its central location in the state. The State Legislature first met there in 1790. After remaining under the direct government of the legislature for the first two decades of its existence, Columbia was incorporated as a village in 1805 and then as a city in 1854.
Columbia received a large stimulus to development when it was connected in a direct water route to Charleston by the Santee Canal. This connected the Santee and Cooper rivers in a 22-mile-long (35 km) section. It was first chartered in 1786 and completed in 1800, making it one of the earliest canals in the United States. With competition later from faster railroad traffic, it ceased operation around 1850.
The commissioners designed a town of 400 blocks in a 2-mile (3 km) square along the river. The blocks were divided into lots of 0.5 acres (2,000 m) and sold to speculators and prospective residents. Buyers had to build a house at least 30 feet (9.1 m) long and 18 feet (5.5 m) wide within three years, or face an annual 5% penalty. The perimeter streets and two through streets were 150 feet (46 m) wide. The remaining squares were divided by thoroughfares 100 feet (30 m) wide. As the capital and one of the first planned cities in the United States, Columbia began to grow rapidly. Its population was nearing 1,000 shortly after the start of the 19th century.
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The commissioners constituted the local government until 1797, when a Commission of Streets and Markets was created by the General Assembly. Three main issues occupied most of their time: public drunkenness, gambling, and poor sanitation.
19th century
In 1801, South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina) was founded in Columbia. The original building survives. The city was chosen as the site of the state college in an effort to unite residents of the Upcountry and the Lowcountry after the American Revolutionary War. The leaders of South Carolina kept a close eye on the new college: for many years after its founding, commencement exercises were held in December while the state legislature was in session.
Columbia received its first charter as a town in 1805. An intendant and six wardens governed the town. John Taylor, the first elected intendant, later served in both houses of the General Assembly, both houses of Congress, and eventually was elected as governor. By 1816, some 250 homes had been built in the town and a population was more than 1000.
In 1828, the South Carolina Female Collegiate Institute was founded by Elias Marks for the higher education of young women. (The word Collegiate was added to its charter in 1835.) Since the school was located on 500 acres in the Barhamville area of Columbia, it was often informally called Barhamville Institute or Barhamville Academy. "...it was the first and only school of its character at the South. It was of a very high class..." The Barhamville Institute closed in 1867 due to the economic dislocation of the Civil War.
Columbia became chartered as a city in 1854, with an elected mayor and six aldermen. Two years later, Columbia had a police force consisting of a full-time chief and nine patrolmen. The city continued to grow at a rapid pace, and throughout the 1850s and 1860s, Columbia was the largest inland city in the Carolinas. Railroad transportation served as a significant cause of population expansion in Columbia during this time. Rail lines that reached the city in the 1840s primarily transported cotton bales, not passengers, from there to major markets and the port of Charlestown. Cotton was the chief commodity of the state and lifeblood of the Columbia community; in 1850, virtually all of the city's commercial and economic activity was related to cotton. Cotton was sent to New York and New England's textile mills, as well as to England and Europe, where demand was high.
"In 1830, around 1,500 slaves lived and worked in Columbia; this population grew to 3,300 by 1860. Some members of this large enslaved population worked in their masters' households. Masters also frequently hired out slaves to Columbia residents and institutions, including South Carolina College. Hired-out slaves sometimes returned to their owners' homes daily; others boarded with their temporary masters."
Civil War
Columbia was of considerable importance to the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Columbia was the site of the first Southern secession convention, which assembled in the First Baptist Church on December 17, 1860. Secession may have been declared in Columbia, were it not for a smallpox outbreak that moved the convention to Charleston, where South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union on December 20. A considerable military infrastructure sprung up in Columbia. The state arsenal was located in Columbia, along with the state military academy. The University of South Carolina grounds were converted into a military hospital since its role as an educational institution had been made moot after its entire student body volunteered for the Confederate Army. Numerous industrial facilities produced war materiel. By 1865, it was also the Confederacy's last breadbasket. All of these factors combined to make it the obvious next target for General William T. Sherman after his successful March to the Sea captured Savannah, Georgia.
The Union Army, under Gen. Sherman, captured the city on February 17, 1865. Much of the city was destroyed by fire between the 17th and 18th. The idea that General Sherman ordered the burning of Columbia has persisted as part of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy narrative. However modern historians have concluded that no one cause led to the burning of Columbia and that Sherman did not order the burning. Rather, the chaotic atmosphere in the city on the occasion of its fall led to the ideal conditions for a fire to start and spread. As a newspaper columnist noted in 1874, "the war burned Columbia."
Reconstruction era and beyond
During the Reconstruction era, when African-American Republicans were among the legislators elected to state government, Columbia became the focus of considerable attention. Reporters, journalists, travelers, and tourists flocked here to see a Southern state legislature whose members included freedmen (former slaves), as well as men of color who had been free before the war. The city began to rebuild and recover from the devastating fire of 1865; a mild construction boom took place within the first few years of Reconstruction. In addition, repair of railroad tracks in outlying areas created more jobs for residents.
By the late nineteenth century, culture was expanding in the city. In 1897 the Columbia Music Festival Association (CMFA) was founded by Mayor William McB. Sloan and the city aldermen. It was headquartered in the Opera House on Main Street, which also served as City Hall. Its role was to book and manage concerts and events in the opera house for the city.
20th century
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Columbia in ruins after burning at the end of the Civil War, c. 1865 -
Main Street with streetcars, January 1900 -
Modern day Main Street, June 2010
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During the early 20th century, Columbia developed as a regional textile manufacturing center. In 1907, Columbia had six mills in operation: Richland, Granby, Olympia, Capital City, Columbia, and Palmetto. Combined, they employed over 3,400 workers with an annual payroll of $819,000, giving the Midlands an economic boost of over $4.8 million. Columbia had no paved streets until 1908, when 17 blocks of Main Street were surfaced. But, it had 115 publicly maintained street crossings, boardwalks placed at intersections to keep pedestrians from having to wade through a sea of mud between wooden sidewalks. As an experiment, Washington Street was once paved with wooden blocks. This proved to be the source of much local amusement when they buckled and floated away during heavy rains. The blocks were replaced with asphalt paving in 1925.
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During the years 1911 and 1912, some $2.5 million worth of construction occurred in the city, as investors used revenues generated by the mills. New projects included construction of the Union Bank Building at Main and Gervais, the Palmetto National Bank, a shopping arcade, and large hotels at Main and Laurel (the Jefferson) and at Main and Wheat (the Gresham). In 1917, the city was selected by the US Army to be developed as the site of Camp Jackson, a U.S. military installation that was officially classified as a "Field Artillery Replacement Depot". The first recruits arrived at the camp on September 1, 1917. In the first several decades of the 20th century, white Democrats of the Solid South controlled an outsize amount of power in the House and Senate. The former Confederate states had effectively disenfranchised most blacks and many poor whites through passage of discriminatory laws and constitutions that made voter registration and voting more difficult. But they controlled all the seats in Congress related to the total state populations.
In 1930, Columbia was the hub of a trading area with about 500,000 potential customers. It had 803 retail establishments, 280 of them being food stores. The city also had 58 clothing and apparel outlets, 57 restaurants and lunch rooms, 55 filling stations, 38 pharmacies, 20 furniture stores, 19 auto dealers, 11 shoe stores, nine cigar stands, five department stores, and one book store. Wholesale distributors located within the city numbered 119, with one-third of them dealing in food.
In 1934, the federal courthouse at the corner of Main and Laurel streets was purchased by the city for use as City Hall. Built of granite from nearby Winnsboro, Columbia City Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed by Alfred Built Mullett, President Ulysses S. Grant's federal architect, the building was completed in 1876. Mullet, best known for his design of the Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, had originally designed the courthouse with a clock tower. It was not constructed, perhaps because of large cost overruns on the project. Copies of Millet's original drawings can be seen on the walls of City Hall alongside historic photos of other Columbia beginnings. Federal offices were moved to the new J. Bratton Davis United States Bankruptcy Courthouse.
In 1940 Camp Jackson was reactivated after war started in Europe, and was designated as Fort Jackson. City leaders and the congressional delegation had lobbied to gain such a permanent military installation. In the early 1940s, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, which catalyzed the entry of the US into World War II, Lt. Colonel Jimmy Doolittle and his group of now-famous pilots began training for the 1942 Doolittle Raid over Tokyo at what is now Columbia Metropolitan Airport. They trained in B-25 Mitchell bombers, the same model as the plane that is installed at Columbia's Owens Field in the Curtiss-Wright hangar.
During the 1940s African Americans increased activism for their civil rights: seeking to reverse Jim Crow laws and racial discrimination that pushed them into second-class status in Columbia and the state. In 1945, a federal judge ruled that the city's black teachers were entitled to equal pay to that of their white counterparts. But, in following years, the state attempted to strip many blacks of their teaching credentials. Other issues in which the blacks of the city sought equality concerned voting rights and segregation (particularly regarding public schools). In 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education, the US Supreme Court ruled that segregated public schools were unconstitutional.
On August 21, 1962, eight downtown chain stores served blacks at their lunch counters for the first time. The University of South Carolina, a public institution, admitted its first black students in 1963. Around that same time, many vestiges of segregation began to disappear from the city: blacks attained membership on various municipal boards and commissions, and the city adopted a non-discriminatory hiring policy. These and other such signs of racial progress helped earn the city the 1964 All-America City Award for the second time (the first being in 1951). A 1965 article in Newsweek lauded Columbia as a city that had "liberated itself from the plague of doctrinal apartheid".
Since the late 20th century, historic preservation has played a significant part in the city. The historic Robert Mills House was restored in 1967, which inspired the renovation and restoration of other historic structures, such as the Hampton-Preston House and others associated with President Woodrow Wilson, Maxcy Gregg, Mary Boykin Chesnut, and noted free black Celia Mann. In the early 1970s, the University of South Carolina initiated the refurbishment of its "Horseshoe". Several area museums also benefited from the increased historical interest of that time, among them the Fort Jackson Museum, the McKissick Museum on the campus of the University of South Carolina, and most notably the South Carolina State Museum, which opened in 1988.
Mayor Kirkman Finlay Jr., was the driving force behind the refurbishment of Seaboard Park, now known as Finlay Park, in the historic Congaree Vista district. His administration developed the $60 million Palmetto Center package, which resulted in construction of an office tower, parking garage, and the Columbia Marriott hotel, which opened in 1983. In 1980, the Columbia metropolitan population reached 410,088, and in 1990, this figure had hit roughly 470,000. During the 1970s and 1980s skyscrapers were constructed and other real-estate development took place throughout Columbia. To meet demand of businesses, the city constructed The Tower at 1301 Gervais in 1973. In 1983, Hub at Columbia was constructed. In 1987, the Capitol Center was built, which became the tallest building in South Carolina. The Bank of America Plaza was built in 1989.
21st century and recent history
During the 1990s and early 2000s the city worked to revitalize the downtown, as businesses had been pulled out to the suburbs. The Congaree Vista district along Gervais Street, once known as a warehouse district, became an area of art galleries, shops, and restaurants. The Colonial Life Arena (formerly known as the Colonial Center) opened in 2002, and brought several major entertainers and shows to Columbia. EdVenture, the largest children's museum in the Southeast, opened in 2003. The Village at Sandhill shopping center opened in 2004 in northeast Richland County.
The Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center opened in 2004, and a new convention center hotel opened in September 2007. A public-private City Center Partnership has been formed to implement the downtown revitalization and boost downtown growth. In 2009, Columbia's most recent skyscraper, the Tower at Main and Gervais, was completed. Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin started his first term in July 2010, elected as the first African-American mayor in the city's history.
Founders Park, home of USC baseball, opened in 2009. The South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team won two NCAA national championships in 2010 and in 2011. The 2010 South Carolina Gamecocks football team, under coach Steve Spurrier, earned their first appearance in the SEC championship. Historic flooding in the city in October 2015 forced the Gamecocks football team to move their October 10 home game. Segra Park (formerly Spirit Communications Park), home of the Columbia Fireflies, opened in April 2016. In April 2017, the Gamecocks women's basketball team (under coach Dawn Staley) won their first NCAA championship, and the men's basketball team went to the Final Four for the first time. They won their second national championship in 2022 and third in 2024.
A Mast General Store was opened in 2011. The Music Farm (now called The Senate) opened a location in Columbia on Senate Street in 2014. In 2000, the Confederate battle flag was moved from the South Carolina State House to the Confederate monument. On July 10, 2015, the flag was removed from the monument to a museum in the wake of the Charleston church shooting a month before by Columbia-born resident Dylann Roof. In August 2017, the central path of a total solar eclipse passed directly over the city and state capitol.
In March 2019, the murder of Samantha Josephson gained national attention. In Five Points, a neighborhood in Columbia known for its late-night bars, Samantha Josephson mistakenly entered into a car she believed was her Uber. The driver, Nathaniel Rowland, killed Josephson, sparking laws around the United States to further regulate rideshare companies. In South Carolina, the Samantha L. Josephson Ridesharing Act requires rideshare drivers to display identifying lights and prohibits the misrepresentation of non-rideshare drivers as such. Similar laws passed in New Jersey, North Carolina, and New York State. Rowland was caught, convicted, and sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole. On December 28, 2022, federal legislation authorizing a study of ride-sharing safety practices, with passage by the US House and Senate, was sent to President Biden's desk.
In May 2019, 10,000 people marched at the Statehouse in the "All Out Rally" to protest issues surrounding education, including low teacher pay, high student-to-teacher ratios, and the general underfunding of education. The protest was led by SC for Ed, a left-learning state advocacy group for teachers.
Following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, protests and riots spread to South Carolina and Columbia, which included the burning of several police cars and the breaking of business windows.
In 2021, Republican Daniel Rickenmann was elected mayor of Columbia, defeating Democrat Tameika Isaac Devine. He succeeded Stephen K. Benjamin, who did not seek reelection, in January 2022.
On April 16, 2022, a mass shooting at the Columbiana Centre mall resulted in the injuries of 14 people. 10 were struck by gunfire while four sustained stampede-related injuries. Three men were arrested; Columbia police declared that the shooting was the result of an argument, not a random attack or terrorism.
Geography
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One of Columbia's more prominent geographical features is the fall line, the boundary between the upland Piedmont region and the Atlantic Coastal Plain, across which rivers drop as falls or rapids. Columbia developed at the fall line of the Congaree River, which is formed by the confluence of the Broad and Saluda rivers. The Congaree was the farthest inland point of river navigation. The energy of falling water also powered Columbia's early mills.
The city has capitalized on this location, which includes three rivers, by identifying as "The Columbia Riverbanks Region". Columbia is located roughly halfway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Blue Ridge Mountains, at an elevation around 292 ft (89 m).
Soils in Columbia are well drained in most cases, with grayish brown loamy sand topsoil. The subsoil may be yellowish-red, sandy clay loam (Orangeburg series), yellowish-brown sandy clay loam (Norfolk series), or strong brown sandy clay (Marlboro series). All belong to the Ultisol soil order.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 140.68 square miles (364.4 km), of which 137.81 square miles (356.9 km) is land and 2.87 square miles (7.4 km) (1.68%) is water. Approximately ⅔ of Columbia's land area, 81.2 square miles (210 km), is contained within the Fort Jackson Military Installation, much of which consists of uninhabited training grounds. The actual inhabited area for the city is slightly more than 50 square miles (130 km).
Climate
Columbia has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with relatively cool to mild winters and hot and humid summers. The area averages 55 nights below freezing and is subject to temporary cold spells during the winter, but extended cold or days where the temperature fails to rise above freezing are both rare. These cold snaps usually result from atmospheric troughs that bring in cold air from Canada across the Eastern part of the country. The USDA places Columbia in the 8a Hardiness Zone.
With an annual average of 5 days with 100 °F (38 °C)+ and 72 days with 90 °F (32 °C)+ temperatures, the city's current promotional slogan describes Columbia as "Famously Hot". In the summer months, Columbia usually has the greatest high temperature in the state. One reason for this is its low elevation in comparison to other cities at similar latitudes. For example, Atlanta has a significantly higher elevation, which helps to moderate its summer temperatures. Secondly, the city lies in the heart of the Sandhills region. Since the region's soils are more sandy, they contain less water and can warm up more quickly. This explains why usually only the high temperatures and not the low temperatures are much different from across the state. Thirdly, because of its distance from the Atlantic Ocean, it does not receive the same moderating effects of coastal cities like Charleston. Lastly, the city experiences the urban heat island effect, making it significantly warmer than some surrounding towns and cities.
Precipitation, at 44.6 inches (1,130 mm) annually, peaks in the summer months largely because of afternoon thunderstorms, and is the least during spring and fall. Snowfall averages 1.5 inches (3.8 cm), but is largely variable depending on the year. Snow flurries usually do fall at least once during the winter season during its coldest periods. Like much of the southeastern U.S., the city is prone to inversions, which trap ozone and other pollutants over the area.
Official extremes in temperature at the main weather station have ranged from 109 °F (43 °C) on June 29 and 30, 2012 down to −2 °F (−19 °C), set on February 14, 1899. Only one other sub-zero temperature has been recorded in Columbia: −1 °F (−18 °C) on January 21, 1985. A weather station at the University of South Carolina campus measured a reading of 113 °F (45 °C) on June 29, 2012, which is the highest temperature ever recorded in South Carolina.
| Climate data for Columbia, South Carolina (Columbia Airport), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1887–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 84 (29) |
84 (29) |
93 (34) |
96 (36) |
101 (38) |
113 (45) |
107 (42) |
107 (42) |
106 (41) |
101 (38) |
90 (32) |
83 (28) |
113 (45) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 74.5 (23.6) |
78.0 (25.6) |
84.1 (28.9) |
89.0 (31.7) |
94.4 (34.7) |
98.3 (36.8) |
100.1 (37.8) |
99.1 (37.3) |
95.2 (35.1) |
88.6 (31.4) |
80.9 (27.2) |
75.8 (24.3) |
101.5 (38.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 56.8 (13.8) |
60.8 (16.0) |
68.3 (20.2) |
76.7 (24.8) |
83.8 (28.8) |
89.7 (32.1) |
92.7 (33.7) |
90.8 (32.7) |
85.7 (29.8) |
76.5 (24.7) |
66.4 (19.1) |
58.9 (14.9) |
75.6 (24.2) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 45.7 (7.6) |
49.1 (9.5) |
55.9 (13.3) |
64.1 (17.8) |
72.2 (22.3) |
79.1 (26.2) |
82.4 (28.0) |
81.0 (27.2) |
75.5 (24.2) |
64.6 (18.1) |
54.0 (12.2) |
47.7 (8.7) |
64.3 (17.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 34.6 (1.4) |
37.3 (2.9) |
43.6 (6.4) |
51.5 (10.8) |
60.5 (15.8) |
68.6 (20.3) |
72.0 (22.2) |
71.2 (21.8) |
65.3 (18.5) |
52.7 (11.5) |
41.6 (5.3) |
36.5 (2.5) |
53.0 (11.7) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 18.3 (−7.6) |
22.2 (−5.4) |
26.4 (−3.1) |
34.8 (1.6) |
46.2 (7.9) |
58.9 (14.9) |
65.4 (18.6) |
62.5 (16.9) |
51.7 (10.9) |
35.8 (2.1) |
26.3 (−3.2) |
21.7 (−5.7) |
16.7 (−8.5) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −1 (−18) |
−2 (−19) |
4 (−16) |
26 (−3) |
34 (1) |
44 (7) |
54 (12) |
53 (12) |
40 (4) |
23 (−5) |
12 (−11) |
4 (−16) |
−2 (−19) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 3.49 (89) |
3.39 (86) |
3.57 (91) |
2.83 (72) |
3.49 (89) |
4.97 (126) |
5.35 (136) |
4.65 (118) |
3.91 (99) |
3.13 (80) |
2.76 (70) |
3.70 (94) |
45.24 (1,149) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.6 (1.5) |
0.4 (1.0) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.25) |
1.2 (3.0) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 9.6 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 8.1 | 8.5 | 11.0 | 11.8 | 10.4 | 8.0 | 6.9 | 7.3 | 9.2 | 108.6 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.8 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 69.2 | 65.8 | 64.6 | 62.1 | 68.2 | 70.8 | 73.4 | 76.5 | 75.9 | 73.0 | 71.6 | 70.7 | 70.2 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 172.7 | 180.7 | 237.3 | 269.6 | 292.9 | 280.0 | 286.0 | 263.3 | 239.8 | 235.0 | 193.8 | 175.0 | 2,826.1 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 55 | 59 | 64 | 69 | 68 | 65 | 65 | 63 | 64 | 67 | 62 | 57 | 64 |
| Source: NOAA (relative humidity and sun 1961−1990) | |||||||||||||
Metropolitan area
The metropolitan statistical area of Columbia is the second-largest in South Carolina, and had an estimated population of 858,302 in 2023.
Columbia's metropolitan counties include:
Columbia's suburbs and environs include:
- Blythewood
- Camden
- Cayce
- Dentsville
- Forest Acres
- Irmo
- Lexington
- Lugoff
- Oak Grove
- Red Bank
- Seven Oaks
- St. Andrews
- West Columbia
- Woodfield
Neighborhoods
- Allen Benedict Court
- Arsenal Hill
- Ashley Hall
- Ashley Place
- Belvedere
- Bluff Estates
- Booker Washington Heights
- Brookstone
- Brandon Hall
- Burton Heights (Standish Acres)
- Colonial Heights
- Colonial Park
- Colony
- Congaree Vista
- Cottontown/Bellevue Historic District
- Crane Forest
- Earlewood
- Eau Claire
- Elmwood Park
- Five Points
- Forest Acres
- Forest Hills
- Gable Oaks
- Granby Mill Village
- Greenview
- Gregg Park
- Gonzales Gardens
- Hastings Pointe Dr
- Harbison
- Heathwood
- Heritage Woods
- Highland Park
- Hollywood-Rose Hill
- Hollywood Hills
- Keenan Terrace
- Killian
- King's Grant
- Lake Carolina
- Lake Katherine
- Lincolnshire
- Long Creek Plantation
- Magnolia Hall
- Martin Luther King (Valley Park)
- Melrose Heights
- Old Shandon
- Old Woodlands
- Olympia Mill Village
- Pinehurst
- Robert Mills Historic Neighborhood
- Rockgate
- Rosewood
- Sherwood Forest
- Shandon
- The Summit
- Summerhill
- Spring Valley
- University Hill
- Wales Garden
- Waverly Historic District
- Villages at Longtown
- Wheeler Hill
- WildeWood
- Winchester
- Winslow
- Winterwood
- Woodcreek Farms
- Woodlake
- The Woodlands
- Yorkshire
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1830 | 3,310 | — | |
| 1840 | 4,340 | 31.1% | |
| 1850 | 6,060 | 39.6% | |
| 1860 | 9,052 | 49.4% | |
| 1870 | 12,298 | 35.9% | |
| 1880 | 10,036 | −18.4% | |
| 1890 | 15,353 | 53.0% | |
| 1900 | 21,108 | 37.5% | |
| 1910 | 26,319 | 24.7% | |
| 1920 | 37,524 | 42.6% | |
| 1930 | 51,581 | 37.5% | |
| 1940 | 62,396 | 21.0% | |
| 1950 | 86,914 | 39.3% | |
| 1960 | 97,433 | 12.1% | |
| 1970 | 112,542 | 15.5% | |
| 1980 | 108,208 | −3.9% | |
| 1990 | 110,852 | 2.4% | |
| 2000 | 116,278 | 4.9% | |
| 2010 | 129,272 | 11.2% | |
| 2020 | 136,632 | 5.7% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 142,416 | 4.2% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2020 census
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 55,993 | 64,062 | 67,238 | 48.15% | 49.56% | 49.21% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 53,052 | 53,948 | 52,038 | 45.63% | 41.73% | 38.09% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 260 | 363 | 301 | 0.22% | 0.28% | 0.22% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 1,977 | 2,846 | 4,152 | 1.70% | 2.20% | 3.04% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 87 | 150 | 113 | 0.07% | 0.12% | 0.08% |
| Some Other Race alone (NH) | 140 | 162 | 409 | 0.12% | 0.13% | 0.30% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 1,249 | 2,119 | 4,278 | 1.07% | 1.64% | 3.13% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3,520 | 5,622 | 8,103 | 3.03% | 4.35% | 5.93% |
| Total | 116,278 | 129,272 | 136,632 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the 2020 census, there were 136,632 people, 45,474 households, and 22,243 families residing in the city.
As of 2023, of the 136,632 people, about 136,045 are in Richland County and about 587 are in Lexington County.
2010 census
At the 2010 census, there were 129,272 people, 52,471 total households, and 22,638 families residing in the city. The population density was 928.6 people per square mile (358.5 people/km). There were 46,142 housing units at an average density of 368.5 per square mile (142.3/km). The racial makeup of the city was 51.27% White, 42.20% Black, 2.20% Asian, 0.25% Native American, 0.30% Pacific Islander, 1.50% from other races, and 2.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.30% of the population.
There were 45,666 households, out of which 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.7% were married couples living together, 17.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.4% were nonfamilies. 38.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.1% under the age of 18, 22.9% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 16.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,141, and the median income for a family was $39,589. Males had a median income of $30,925 versus $24,679 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,853. About 17.0% of families and 22.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.7% of those under the age of 18 and 16.9% ages 65 or older.
Religion
The Southern Baptist Convention has 241 congregations and 115,000 members. The United Methodist Church has 122 congregations and 51,000 members. The Evangelical Lutheran Church has 71 congregations and 25,400 members. The PC (USA) has 34 congregations and 15,000 members; the Presbyterian Church in America has 22 congregations and 8,000 members. Columbia is see city of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina, and Trinity Episcopal Cathedral is located across the street from the state capitol. The Catholic Church has 14 parishes, including the Basilica of Saint Peter, the state's only minor basilica and the 85th church in the U.S. to receive this designation from the Vatican. There are three Jewish synagogues. There are three different Islamic masjids providing places of worship for more than 600 Muslim families living in Columbia. There is one Greek Orthodox Church in Columbia. There are two Hindu Temples in the city, Hindu Temple of South Carolina and BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Columbia.
Economy
Columbia has a diversified economy, with the major employers in the area being the South Carolina state government, the Prisma Health hospital system, Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, Palmetto GBA, and the University of South Carolina. Other major employers in the Columbia area include Computer Sciences Corporation, Fort Jackson, the U.S. Army's largest and most active initial entry training installation, Richland School District One, Humana/TriCare, and the United Parcel Service, which operates its Southeastern Regional Hub at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport. Major manufacturers such as Square D, CMC Steel, Spirax Sarco, Michelin, International Paper, Pirelli Cables, Honeywell, Westinghouse Electric, Harsco Track Tech, Trane, Intertape Polymer Group, Union Switch & Signal, FN Herstal, Solectron, and Bose Technology have facilities in the Columbia area. There are over 70 foreign affiliated companies and fourteen Fortune 500 companies in the region.
Several companies have their global, continental, or national headquarters in Columbia, including Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, the second-largest supplemental insurance company in the nation; the Ritedose Corporation, a pharmaceutical industry services company; AgFirst Farm Credit Bank, the largest bank headquartered in the state with over $30 billion in assets (the non-commercial bank is part of the Farm Credit System, the largest agricultural lending organization in the United States which was established by Congress in 1916); South State Bank, the largest commercial bank headquartered in South Carolina; Nexsen Pruet, LLC, a multi-specialty business law firm in the Carolinas; Spectrum Medical, an international medical software company; Wilbur Smith Associates, a full-service transportation and infrastructure consulting firm; and Nelson Mullins, a major national law firm. CSC's Financial Services Group, a major provider of software and outsourcing services to the insurance industry, is headquartered in the Columbia suburb of Blythewood.
Downtown revitalization
The city of Columbia has recently accomplished a number of urban redevelopment projects and has several more planned. The historic Congaree Vista, a 1,200-acre (5 km) district running from the central business district toward the Congaree River, features a number of historic buildings that have been rehabilitated since its revitalization begun in the late 1980s. Of note is the adaptive reuse of the Confederate Printing Plant on Gervais and Huger, used to print Confederate bills during the American Civil War. The city cooperated with Publix grocery stores to preserve the look. This won Columbia an award from the International Downtown Association. The Vista district is also where the region's convention center and anchor Hilton hotel with a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse restaurant are located. Other notable developments under construction and recently completed include high-end condos and townhomes, hotels, and mixed-use structures.
