City · Boone County, Missouri

Columbia, Missouri

Columbia is a city in Boone County, Missouri, part of the Columbia, MO metro area. It has 128,548 residents. Columbia, Missouri has a quality-of-life score of 64 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,603 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Missouri it ranks #89 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on average commute time (low), high school diploma or higher (high) and loneliness (low). It ranks worst on income inequality (Gini index) (high), distance to an airport (high) and primary care shortage (high).

64High

Quality-of-life score: #5,603 of 15,651 cities and towns
Missouri: #89 of 375 in MO
Population: 128,548 (2020-2024)
Land area: 68 mi²
Density: 1,895.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 2915670

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety23#12,099/15,637
Economy36#9,990/15,631
Housing50#7,548/14,977
Health71#4,573/15,609
Healthcare63#5,753/15,650
Environment90#1,560/15,453
Education71#4,587/15,649
Infrastructure58#6,565/15,650
Community59#6,398/15,651
Leisure & amenities63#5,716/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Columbia, Missouri ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Boone 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

Average commute time · low16.4 min
97/100Missouri 23.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
High school diploma or higher · high95.7%
95/100Missouri 91.8%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Loneliness · low29.0%
95/100Missouri 32.5%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Primary care physicians · high120 /100k
92/100Missouri 72 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBoone County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · high56.7%
91/100Missouri 32.4%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Mental health providers · high503 /100k
87/100Missouri 278 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBoone County value

Weaknesses

Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.495
6/100Missouri 0.465United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Distance to an airport · high106 mi
9/100Missouri 40 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauBoone County value
Primary care shortage · high17.0
9/100Missouri 10.5United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationBoone County value
Pharmacies · low0.9 /10k
10/100Missouri 2.1 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBoone County value
Poverty rate · high19.3%
16/100Missouri 12.2%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Homicide rate · high6.9 /100k
17/100Missouri 7.7 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBoone County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
121,230 (2015-2019) → 128,548 (2020-2024)
+6%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
83.1% (2015-2019) → 90.5% (2020-2024)
+7.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$51,276 (2015-2019) → $66,498 (2020-2024)
+30%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
52.2% (2015-2019) → 56.7% (2020-2024)
+4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
54.8% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
−3.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.7× (2015-2019) → 4.3× (2020-2024)
+14%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Missouri improved on 4 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 moved within the margin of error and 1 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.

Improved4

Poverty−2.5 points21.8% → 19.3%
Bachelor's++4.5 points52.2% → 56.7%
Household income+30%$51,276 → $66,498
Broadband+7.4 points83.1% → 90.5%

Declined1

Price / income+0.5×3.7× → 4.3×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Columbia, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.6 min2015-2019	16.4 min2020-2024	−0.3 min	Within the margin of error	51%
Bachelor's degree or higher	52.2%2015-2019	56.7%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Improved	64%
Broadband subscriptions	83.1%2015-2019	90.5%2020-2024	+7.4 points	Improved	46%
Child poverty rate	15.1%2015-2019	12.3%2020-2024	−2.8 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Effective property tax rate	1.04%2015-2019	0.89%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	46%
High school diploma or higher	95.2%2015-2019	95.7%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Home price to income ratio	3.7×2015-2019	4.3×2020-2024	+0.5×	Declined	45%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4922015-2019	0.4962020-2024	+0.003	Within the margin of error	48%
Median household income	$51,2762015-2019	$66,4982020-2024	+30%	Improved	55%
Poverty rate	21.8%2015-2019	19.3%2020-2024	−2.5 points	Improved	66%
Public transit commuters	1.3%2015-2019	1.2%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Rent as share of income	32.8%2015-2019	30.6%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Rent-burdened households	54.8%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	−3.9 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Unemployment rate	4.4%2015-2019	4.0%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.6%2015-2019	6.5%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“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, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Columbia, Missouri 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, Missouri itself moved +2.8 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

128,548 residents (±62)

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

52,564 households (±751)

Columbia, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k19%10,196
$25k–50k19%10,148
$50k–75k17%8,763

Homes

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

Owners and renters

52,564 households (±751)

Columbia, Missouri
Missouri share

Own49%25,592
Rent51%26,972

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

66,882 workers (±1,253)

Columbia, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone74%49,289
Carpool7.8%5,199
Public transit1.2%†817

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Columbia, MO

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 Boone County, the county holding most of Columbia's residents.

Boone County has 4,725 employer establishments, 249 for every 10,000 residents (1.00× the US rate of 248; 1.02× Missouri's), with 85,754 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,766. The Census Bureau also counts 14,372 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 4,725; 14,372 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 249; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 85,754
Average annual pay: $52,766; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	477	25.2	1.21×About typical	4,678	$73,295	695
Restaurants and other eating places	344	18.2	0.99×About typical	8,494	$19,541	49
Specialty trade contractors	336	17.7	1.15×About typical	2,209	$63,729	722
Lessors of real estate	238	12.6	1.02×About typical	972	$55,229	2,065
Construction of buildings	186	9.8	1.30×More than typical	945	$48,170	397
Limited-service restaurants	160	8.4	1.05×About typical	3,978	$18,285	22
Services to buildings and dwellings	159	8.4	1.24×About typical	1,246	$32,661	744
Offices of physicians	155	8.2	1.26×More than typical	1,403	$107,516	200
Full-service restaurants	134	7.1	0.92×About typical	3,703	$21,485	12
Offices of other health practitioners	132	7	1.15×About typical	790	$53,611	349
Building finishing contractors	118	6.2	1.64×More than typical	471	$48,206	263
Religious organizations	114	6	1.08×About typical	1,327	$26,815	—

Rank places for an industry Open Boone County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 189,530 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 $5.7M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Columbia, Missouri: $44.49 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $5.7M; −37% vs FY2025
Per resident: $44.49; US $1,994
Sole-source: 20%; US 30%
Single offer: 23%; 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 Veterans Affairs$7.7M100%
U.S. Geological Survey$633.2K11%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$217.7K3.8%
Department of the Air Force$72K1.3%
Agricultural Research Service$24.3K0.4%
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service$21.2K0.4%
Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services$17.8K0.3%
Bureau of Land Management$12.8K0.2%

Top recipients

GUARANTEE INTERIORS, INC.$2.1M37%
DUBUQUE BARGE AND FLEETING SERVICE CO$1.2M21%
ATTA ELEVATORS USA, INC$1M18%
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SYSTEM$557.8K9.8%
ONSITE CONSTRUCTION GROUP LLC$486.6K8.5%

Spending by fiscal year

8.3MFY2017
13.7MFY2018
10.4MFY2019
15.6MFY2020
10.1MFY2021
15.1MFY2022
16MFY2023
9M

Top industries (NAICS)

Building equipment contractors · 2382$1.4M24%
Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$1.2M21%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$877.4K15%
Colleges, universities, and professional schools · 6113$557.8K9.8%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$451K7.9%

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, Missouri, so they do not add up across cities.

Columbia, Missouri's figures are part of those of Boone County, MO ($30.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 19% of that total.

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

See federal money in Boone 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, Missouri is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

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

Boone County76100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Columbia, MO84

Other cities and towns in Boone County

Largest first.

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/2915670

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends