Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 64/100
C+
Median home value$293,000
St. Louis $244,800
Median rent$1,128/mo
St. Louis $1,113/mo
Cost-burdened households21%
St. Louis 26%
Columbia
Monroe & St. Clair counties11,127 residentsColumbia Cusd 4
60
C
Suburbgrade score
28th of 60 St. Louis suburbs. Strongest on employment & income, held back by amenities.
60
St. Louis median 60
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Columbia yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 60 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Columbia is like to live in, by category
Bars show Columbia against St. Louis. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 72/100
B−
Within-state proficiency76th pct
St. Louis median 68th pct
Student–teacher ratio15.2
St. Louis median 14.5
Graduation rate—
St. Louis median 94%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 54/100
C−
Housing cost index115
St. Louis 100
Eff. tax rate1.62%
St. Louis 1.16%
Local sales tax8.96%
St. Louis median 8.44%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 55/100
C−
Mean commute26.4 min
St. Louis 24.9 min
Under 30 minutes63%
St. Louis 65%
Transit stops / sq mi2.6
St. Louis median 1.4 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 33/100
F
Restaurants & cafés8
St. Louis median 32 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
St. Louis median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks13
St. Louis median 21 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 77/100
B
Median household income$107,606
St. Louis $80,196
Unemployment1.4%
St. Louis 4.2%
Professional occupations53%
St. Louis 45%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Columbia yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Columbia on amenities
Columbia's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same six inputs.
SuburbAmenitiesOverall
St. Louis12 mi from ColumbiaA 57 C− Clayton14 mi from ColumbiaA− 77 B Overland18 mi from ColumbiaB+ 53 C− University City16 mi from ColumbiaB+ 62 C Kirkwood14 mi from ColumbiaB 76 B Creve Coeur19 mi from ColumbiaB 76 B Restaurants & cafés: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026 · Groceries: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026
Common questions about living in Columbia
Is Columbia, IL a good place to live?
Columbia scores 60 out of 100, 28th of 60 St. Louis suburbs. It is strongest on employment & income and weakest on amenities. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Columbia expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C−. The median home is $293,000, 20% above the St. Louis median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.62%. $1,128/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Columbia?
Schools grade B−. The districts serving Columbia sit at the 76th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a — graduation rate and a 15.2 student–teacher ratio. Columbia is served by Columbia Cusd 4. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Columbia?
The mean commute is 26.4 min, with 63% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 13% working from home. Transit density is 2.6 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Columbia?
Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 8 restaurants and cafés and 13 parks, which grades F on amenities.
Are the homes in Columbia old or new?
The median home in Columbia was built in 1991 — newer than the St. Louis median of 1973. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 85% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.