City · Adair County, Kentucky

Columbia, Kentucky

Columbia is a city in Adair County, Kentucky. It has 4,808 residents. Columbia, Kentucky has a quality-of-life score of 23 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,063 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kentucky it ranks #161 of 243 cities and towns. It ranks best on property crime rate (low), pharmacies (high) and violent crime rate (low). It ranks worst on dentists (low), average weekly wage (low) and primary care physicians (low).

23Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,063 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kentucky: #161 of 243 in KY
Population: 4,808 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 986.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 2116750

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety55#7,026/15,637
Economy14#13,392/15,631
Housing86#2,097/14,977
Health10#14,101/15,609
Healthcare22#12,243/15,650
Environment62#5,882/15,453
Education36#10,049/15,649
Infrastructure28#11,315/15,650
Community9#14,221/15,651
Leisure & amenities15#13,260/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Columbia, Kentucky ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Adair County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Property crime rate · low111 /100k
100/100Kentucky 1,262 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationAdair County value
Pharmacies · high3.6 /10k
99/100Kentucky 2.4 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAdair County value
Violent crime rate · low39 /100k
99/100Kentucky 212 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationAdair County value
Average commute time · low15.3 min
95/100Kentucky 24.0 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Time spent in the emergency room · low114 min
90/100Kentucky 153 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesAdair County value
Child care cost burden · low22.0%
88/100Kentucky 25.2%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAdair County value

Weaknesses

Dentists · low10 /100k
1/100Kentucky 67 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAdair County value
Average weekly wage · low$842
2/100Kentucky $1,202United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAdair County value
Primary care physicians · low16 /100k
3/100Kentucky 63 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAdair County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.0 /10k
3/100Kentucky 4.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAdair County value
Preventable hospital stays · high4,612 /100k
3/100Kentucky 3,415 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAdair County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Kentucky 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAdair County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
64.5% (2015-2019) → 87.8% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
15.1% (2015-2019) → 25.3% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$34,960 (2015-2019) → $47,299 (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Unemployment rateImproving
8.5% (2015-2019) → 4.4% (2020-2024)
−4.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
77.8% (2015-2019) → 80.7% (2020-2024)
+2.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Child poverty rateWorsening
15.5% (2015-2019) → 18.0% (2020-2024)
+2.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Columbia, Kentucky improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Broadband+23 points64.5% → 87.8%
Bachelor's++10 points15.1% → 25.3%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Columbia, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.2 min2015-2019	15.3 min2020-2024	−0.9 min	Within the margin of error	59%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.1%2015-2019	25.3%2020-2024	+10 points	Improved	90%
Broadband subscriptions	64.5%2015-2019	87.8%2020-2024	+23 points	Improved	94%
Child poverty rate	15.5%2015-2019	18.0%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Effective property tax rate	0.63%2015-2019	0.70%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	8%
High school diploma or higher	77.8%2015-2019	80.7%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	69%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5782015-2019	0.5212020-2024	−0.057	Within the margin of error	87%
Median household income	$34,9602015-2019	$47,2992020-2024	+35%	Within the margin of error	66%
Poverty rate	17.1%2015-2019	18.3%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	26.3%2015-2019	26.3%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Rent-burdened households	34.1%2015-2019	36.4%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.8%2015-2019	5.6%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	50%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Columbia, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Columbia, Kentucky in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Columbia, Kentucky itself moved +5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

4,808 residents (±26)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,567 households (±168)

Columbia, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k33%†524
$25k–50k18%†280
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,567 households (±168)

Columbia, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own49%761
Rent51%806

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,994 workers (±244)

Columbia, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone63%1,252
Carpool15%†305
Public transit0.0%0

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Adair County, the county holding most of Columbia's residents.

Adair County has 331 employer establishments, 172 for every 10,000 residents (0.69× the US rate of 248; 0.83× Kentucky's), with 4,066 paid employees at an average annual pay of $38,407. The Census Bureau also counts 1,850 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 331; 1,850 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 172; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 4,066
Average annual pay: $38,407; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Adair County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	32	16.6	0.80×Fewer than typical	279	$52,047	72
Restaurants and other eating places	23	11.9	0.65×Fewer than typical	416	$15,675	13
Specialty trade contractors	23	11.9	0.77×Fewer than typical	116	$40,931	314
Truck transportation	17	8.8	1.74×More than typical	88	$41,523	69
Religious organizations	14	7.3	1.31×More than typical	59	$22,407	—
Limited-service restaurants	12	6.2	0.78×Fewer than typical	276	$14,558	6
Full-service restaurants	11	5.7	0.74×Fewer than typical	140	$17,879	7
Offices of other health practitioners	11	5.7	0.94×About typical	53	$37,075	39
Banks and credit unions	10	5.2	1.61×More than typical	101	$48,386	—
Gasoline stations	10	5.2	1.60×More than typical	82	$26,671	—
Offices of physicians	10	5.2	0.80×About typical	101	$68,089	5
Other specialty trade contractors	9	4.7	1.86×Too few to compare	36	$34,444	93

Rank places for an industry Open Adair County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 19,281 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $338 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Columbia, Kentucky: $0.07 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $338
Per resident: $0.07; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$338100%

Top recipients

ADAIR COUNTY SHERIFF$338100%

Spending by fiscal year

-23.6FY2017
2.7KFY2018
754.3FY2019
-561.1FY2020
738.4FY2021
2.5KFY2022
1.1KFY2023
338.3FY2026

Top industries (NAICS)

Investigation and security services · 5616$338100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Columbia, Kentucky, so they do not add up across cities.

Columbia, Kentucky's figures are part of those of Adair County, KY ($21.5K in FY2026), never added to them: 1.6% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Columbia is mostly in Adair County.

See federal money in Adair County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Columbia, Kentucky is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

James ComerR-KY-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.4%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Adair County26100% of residents

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2116750

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends