county

Columbia County, PA

Demographic and economic profile of Columbia County, PA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Columbia County is a small rural Pennsylvania county of 66,012 residents with a relatively older workforce (median age 41.0) and limited college attainment—only 24.9% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, though 91.8% have a high school diploma. Labor force participation stands at 58.1%, with median worker earnings of $38,539 and an unemployment rate of 5.5%, pointing to a modest but stable wage base. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $199,200 and median gross rent of $904/month, though the county has shed population (-1.8% over five years) and carries a 15.7% poverty rate.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

66,012

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$64,644

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.8% since 2018

Columbia County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone59,749 (91.4%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,924 (2.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,233 (1.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone1,184 (1.8%)
  • Some Other Race Alone532 (0.8%)
  • Asian Alone485 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish561
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic399
  3. 3.Other Indo-European270
  4. 4.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)169
  5. 5.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic135

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

17.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

62.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

3,355

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$38,671

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$32,432

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance9,180
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)4,435
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)3,549
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services2,861
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,796

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations11,037
  2. 2.Service Occupations5,726
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations5,486
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations5,362
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations3,101

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.40×)4,206
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.40×)673
  3. 3.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.26×)8,877
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.11×)2,926
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 1.05×)1,495

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$199,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$904/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

69.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9993,239 (17.7%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9992,368 (12.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9992,295 (12.5%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9992,071 (11.3%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9991,383 (7.6%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,299 (7.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

24.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

58.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$38,539

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone22,940 (75.7%)
  • Worked At Home3,914 (12.9%)
  • Carpooled2,170 (7.2%)
  • Walked983 (3.2%)
  • Other153 (0.5%)
  • Bicycle85 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.