What is the cost of living in Columbia?

Columbia has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 93.7, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 79.5, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,276/month.

What is the median salary in Columbia?

The median salary in Columbia is $64,117 annually (mean: $67,829). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Customer Service Representatives.

How safe is Columbia?

The violent crime rate in the Columbia area is 439 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1988 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Columbia?

The state of SC has 1,215 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.3:1. Charter schools make up 7.2% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Columbia?

Infant center-based childcare in the Columbia area averages $7,732 per year. Preschool averages $7,402/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Columbia a good place to relocate?

Columbia has a Life Score of 51.3/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Columbia sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Columbia ranks #29 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Columbia, SC

LiveAbility 62.8/100 places Columbia #29 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

93.7
Cost index (US=100): $1,276
2BR rent / mo: $64,117
Median salary: 62.8
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Columbia ranks #29 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (62.8/100), with its strongest marks in safety and climate.

#29
of 387 US metros · Excellent: 5,478,831
metro-area population: 439
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,215
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: air quality (34/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Columbia ranks #29 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 93.7 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,276/mo, median salary $64,117; LiveAbility Score 62.8/100, strongest in safety and climate.

Signature: LiveAbility 62.8/100 places Columbia #29 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 93.7 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,276/mo.

LiveAbility 62.8/100 puts Columbia in the top third (#29 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Columbia area is 383,170.

Columbia vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

63 Top 7% higher than 93% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Columbia housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Columbia MSA; housing RPP 79.5 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,276/mo.

Studio

$1,032

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,164

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,276

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,623

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,911

/month

Columbia wages and employment

Columbia posts 383,170 total employment with median salary $64,117.

Median Salary

$64,117

Mean Salary

$67,829

Total Employment

383,170

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$27,170
Retail Salespersons	$29,540
Customer Service Representatives	$37,430
Stockers and Order Fillers	$37,180
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$37,530

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Columbia area from NCES.

Schools

1,215

Enrollment

784,749

Student:Teacher

14.3:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Columbia area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,732

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,449

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,402

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Columbia's composite Life Score is 51.3/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

49/100

Average

Wages

43/100

Below average

Rent

52/100

Average

Crime

98/100

Elite

Schools

26/100

Weak

Childcare

71/100

Strong

Environment

7/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Columbia ranks #29 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 62.8/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (98/100)

Safety

98
Climate

98
Low hazard

78
Schools

74
Housing

52
Cost of living

49
Job market

43
Air quality

34

What this shows Columbia's strongest dimensions are safety and climate; its weakest among scored dims is air quality at 34/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Columbia to

Kenosha Killeen-Temple Kingsport-Bristol Kingston Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh Knoxville

Metros near Columbia on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Columbia on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Columbia cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Columbia wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Columbia?

Columbia runs a $64,117 median salary at a 93.7 cost index, ranking #29 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Columbia's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Columbia head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Columbia
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.