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Welcome to Columbia ...

The city of Columbia is primarily located in Richland County<1>. It is the County Seat and the capital of South Carolina. A portion of Columbia extends into Lexington County.



Columbia was established in 1787.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Columbia has a population of 132,165 people<2> (see below for details).

The community of Columbia is 260 feet [79 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Columbia lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

The telephone area code for Columbia: (803)

The ZIP codes for Columbia: 29201-29212, 29214-29230, 29240<4>

Websites for Columbia ...

Official Website:   www.columbiasc.net/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.columbiachamber.com/

Junior League:   www.jlcolumbia.org/

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Columbia had an population of 132,165 people. This is an increase of 2.24% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 13.66% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Columbia had a population of 129,272 people (or 33.62% of the total population of Richland County). This makes Columbia the county's most populous community.

The population of Columbia represents 2.79% of the total population of South Carolina (which has 4,625,364 people), making it the state's most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 129,272 people, the population of Columbia increased 11.17% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 116,278 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Columbia.

Communities Also Named Columbia ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 49 communities that are also named Columbia - they are located in Alabama (2), Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas (3), Kentucky, Louisiana (2), Maine, Maryland, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri (2), Nevada (3), New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio (6), Oklahoma, Pennsylvania (2), South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington (2), West Virginia and Wisconsin.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Columbia.

Communities near Columbia ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Columbia.

  • Lexington
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Irmo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irmo
    • Irmo is located in Lexington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,734 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irmo <5>
  • Blythewood
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • South Congaree
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Congaree have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Congaree
    • South Congaree is located in Lexington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,485 people
  • Pineridge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineridge
    • Pineridge is located in Lexington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,419 people
  • Gaston
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaston
    • Gaston is located in Lexington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,712 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gaston <5>
  • Elgin
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
    • Elgin is located in Kershaw County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,585 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elgin <5>
  • Swansea
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Belmont
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Ravenwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenwood
    • Ravenwood is located in Richland County

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Columbia. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Columbia.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Columbia. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Columbia.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Columbia. Our list includes 168 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Columbia.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Columbia ...

Looking for more information about Columbia? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Columbia, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Columbia.

Adding Columbia to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Columbia in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Columbia was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>

From that list, the Columbia post office opened in 1792.

We also found Columbia in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (1803).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Columbia.

The official website for Columbia: www.columbiasc.net/

The official website for Richland County: www.richlandonline.com/

The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of South Carolina's counties, including Richland, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Columbia.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Columbia - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Columbia). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Columbia or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Our list of ZIP Codes for Columbia includes: 29201, 29202, 29203, 29204, 29205, 29206, 29207, 29208, 29209, 29210, 29211, 29214, 29215, 29216, 29217, 29218, 29219, 29220, 29221, 29222, 29223, 29224, 29225, 29226, 29227, 29228, 29229 & 29230.
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<7>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 10 Mar 2024