Welcome to Columbia ...

Columbia is located in Lancaster County<1>.

The location of Columbia has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Columbia has a population of 10,350 people<3> (see below for details).

Columbia is 360 feet [110 m] above sea level.<4>.

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

Columbia lies within the (717) area code.

We don't have a date for the establishment of Columbia.

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Columbia had an population of 10,350 people. This is a decrease of 0.48% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 0.38% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Columbia had a population of 10,400 people. This makes Columbia the county's 4th most populous community.

The population of Columbia represents 0.08% of the population of Pennsylvania (which has 12,702,379 people), making it the state's 67th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 10,400 people, the population of Columbia has remained roughly the same as the 2000 Census (with a count of 10,311 people).

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

Communities Also Named Columbia ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two Pennsylvania communities named Columbia: This one is located in Lancaster County and the other is located in Venango County.

Beyond Pennsylvania, 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, South Carolina, 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.

• Lancaster
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster
  • Lancaster lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<5> to the east of Columbia.
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 58,990 people
  • Jump to Google Maps centered on Lancaster
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lancaster<6>
• York
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
  • York lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<5> to the southwest of Columbia.
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 43,907 people
  • Jump to Google Maps centered on York
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for York<6>
• Ephrata
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ephrata
  • Ephrata lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<5> to the northeast of Columbia.
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,801 people
  • Jump to Google Maps centered on Ephrata
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ephrata<6>
• Elizabethtown
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabethtown
  • Elizabethtown lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<5> to the northwest of Columbia.
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,494 people
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elizabethtown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to Google Maps centered on Elizabethtown
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elizabethtown<6>
• Lititz
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lititz
  • Lititz lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<5> to the northeast of Columbia.
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,022 people
  • Jump to Google Maps centered on Lititz
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lititz<6>
• Middletown
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
  • Middletown lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<5> to the northwest of Columbia.
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,623 people
  • Jump to Google Maps centered on Middletown
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Middletown<6>
• Millersville
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersville
  • Millersville lies 7 miles [11.3 km]<5> to the east of Columbia.
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,289 people
  • Jump to Google Maps centered on Millersville
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Millersville<6>
• Red Lion
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Lion
  • Red Lion lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<5> to the southwest of Columbia.
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,309 people
  • Jump to Google Maps centered on Red Lion
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Red Lion<6>
• Manheim
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manheim
  • Manheim lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<5> to the northeast of Columbia.
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,816 people
  • Jump to Google Maps centered on Manheim
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manheim<6>
• Hummelstown
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hummelstown
  • Hummelstown lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<5> to the northwest of Columbia.
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,814 people
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hummelstown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to Google Maps centered on Hummelstown
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hummelstown<6>

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 29 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 book titled Table of U.S. Post Offices in the United States (Jan. 1851).

We also found Columbia in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Columbia.

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Columbia. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Lancaster County: www.co.lancaster.pa.us/

The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/