West Columbia Average Income, Population and Demographics

Are you tired of spending 10+ hours searching for demographic and population data for West Columbia, South Carolina? We have all of the data you need by state, county, city, and zip code that will save you many hours of research!

In this article, we'll explore most of the 190+ data points we have for West Columbia, covering popular demographics statistics like household income, race, age and gender, educational attainment, poverty, housing, and transportation.

The data on this page is from the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey from the US Census Bureau.

Median Household Income

According to the latest ACS 5-year survey in 2022, the median household income in West Columbia is $52,648.00.

The chart below shows the average household income by age in West Columbia.

  • Under 25
    $31,826.00
  • 25 to 44
    $53,750.00
  • 45 to 64
    $63,355.00
  • 65 and over
    $52,031.00

Average Household Income

A very commonly asked question is "what is the average household income in West Columbia, South Carolina?". The official term for the average household income is the mean household income. The mean household income is the total income of all households divided by the number of households.

The average (or mean) household income in West Columbia is $73,419.00.

4.39% of households in West Columbia, South Carolina are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

The difference between a median and an average income

The difference between a median and mean household income is that the median income is the middle point of the set of numbers whereas the mean income is an average of all numbers.

Both metrics are important when looking at the income statistics for West Columbia but because the median value doesn't depend on other numbers in the dataset, it doesn't change as much when some of the values are extremely low or extremely high.

Household Income Tiers for West Columbia

We can also look at the household income tiers. This lets you see how many households fall into each of the earnings brackets and what percentage that bracket is of the total number of households.

The chart below shows the household income brackets to see which age groups have the highest median income. The actual data is more granular than these brackets, but we've simplified them into bigger categories to make reviewing the data for West Columbia, South Carolina easier to view.

You can purchase the raw data above, which will have the full income tiers with smaller jumps in household income.

  • Less than $24,999
    20.11%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    26.55%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    19.55%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    11.05%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    13.66%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    4.69%
  • $200,000 or more
    4.39%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income is the average income of all people in West Columbia, South Carolina. This is calculated by dividing the total income of all people in West Columbia by the total number of people in West Columbia.

It differs from the average or mean household income because it includes all people in West Columbia and not just the people who earn an income (i.e. children, retirees, unemployed, etc.).

The per capita income in West Columbia, South Carolina is $34,960.00.

Population in West Columbia by Race and Ethnicity

The total population in West Columbia is currently 17,459 people.

The race and ethnicity of the population in West Columbia can be very important for social research, economics, and marketing to a multi-culturial society.

Whether you want to target products or services to a particular race or ethnicity, or provide housing and new businesses to improve areas with a larger ethnic minority population, this data is very valuable for discovering suitable areas.

The chart below breaks down the population and percentage for each race and ethnicity in West Columbia, South Carolina.

  • 3.50% White
    617
  • 88.80% Black/African American
    15,504
  • 65.00% Native
    11,345
  • 8.80% Hispanic
    1,532
  • 17.70% Asian
    3,097
  • 0.20% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
    35
  • 0.10% Two or more races
    25
  • 3.40% Other
    594

Population of West Columbia by Age and Gender

Another very important demographics statistic for West Columbia, South Carolina is the age and gender of the population. The age and gender of the population can be used to track trends in population growth or decline, and for businesses, the data can be used to identify people important to you and your business need.

In the table below, we show age groups at a 10 year granularity for ease of use. The raw data, which can be purchased above, includes age and gender at a 5 year granularity.

Age Group Male Female
0 to 9 Years 967 959
10 to 19 Years 569 583
20 to 29 Years 1,626 2,076
30 to 39 Years 1,093 1,300
40 to 49 Years 833 840
50 to 59 Years 942 1,015
60 to 69 Years 933 1,146
70 Years and over 975 1,602

Education Levels

Educational attainment is a very useful statistic that can give insights into other data such as the average household income, unemployment levels, and literacy.

What this means is that it is likely for areas that have higher levels of education to have higher average household incomes, lower unemployment rates, and higher literacy rates.

The chart below shows the educational attainment of the population in West Columbia, South Carolina.

  • Master's degree or higher
    16.83%
  • Bachelor's degree
    35.87%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    8.25%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    37.80%
  • Less than high school diploma
    1.26%

Unemployment Rates

The unemployment rate is the percentage of the population that is actively looking for work but is unable to find a job. The unemployment rate is a very important statistic for West Columbia because it can show how many people are actively looking for work and how many people are unable to find a job.

Lower levels of unemployment is generally seen as a positive sign for the economy. It also makes the government in West Columbia look good because it shows that they are doing a good job of creating jobs, working to capacity, being efficient, and keeping the economy strong.

The unemployment rate is calculated using the total population in West Columbia, South Carolina that are over the age of 16.

The current population in West Columbia that are over the age of 16 is 14,693 people.

The unemployment rate in West Columbia is 2.90%, which means 269 people are unemployed.

Median Age in West Columbia

The median age is an interesting metric because it gives us an idea of the age distribution of people in West Columbia, South Carolina. You know when you see a median age that it is the age where half of the population is older and half is younger than it.

For demographic studies, this can be used to infer and compare date to things such as birth rates, the age of parents, and so on.

An increasing median age can be a sign of an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population. This is because older people tend to have fewer children and die more often than younger people.

The median age in West Columbia is 37.3 years old.

We can also look at the median age by gender to compare the see how each group compares to the total median age:

Median age by gender in West Columbia

37.3

Total

35.9

Male

37.8

Female

Households and Families

There are a total of 8,162 households in West Columbia, and the average household size is 2.1 people.

For families, the total number is 3,900, and the average family size is 2.91 people.

9.00% of those families in West Columbia, South Carolina are living below the poverty line.

The table below shows the poverty thresholds for West Columbia in .

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Please note that the poverty thresholds shown above are from , while the latest demographics data we have is from 2022.

Households and Families by Marital Status

There are four types of household and family, as defined by the Census Bureau:

  • Married-couple
  • Male householder, no spouse present
  • Female householder, no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

In the table below, you can see the total households and families in West Columbia, South Carolina for each type, as well as the average sizes.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 2,639 274 987 4,262
Average Household Size 2.9 3.01 3.14 1.3
Total Families 2,639 274 987 0
Average Household Size 2.89 2.84 2.96 0

Housing Data in West Columbia

There are total of 8,674 housing units in West Columbia, South Carolina. Of those units, 8,162 (94.10%) are occupied, and 512 (5.90%) are vacant.

Rental Rates

Of the 8,674 housing units in West Columbia, 3,391 (39.09%) are occupied by renters. The median rent paid by renters is $982.00.

Owner occupied housing units make up the remaining 53.03% of housing units, with 4,600 housing units in total.

The table below breaks down how much rent is paid by renters in West Columbia, South Carolina.

  • No rent paid
    171
  • Less than $500
    44
  • $500 to $999
    1,732
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    1,190
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    242
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    39
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    33
  • $3,000 or more
    111

Property Values

The median value of a property in West Columbia is $178,000.00.

The table below breaks down the range of valuations for all properties in West Columbia.

  • Less than $50,000
    281
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    548
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    858
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    1,156
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    1,158
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    433
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    111
  • $1,000,000 or more
    55

Property Age

We can also look at the number of properties built in a given year to see the spread of property age in West Columbia, South Carolina.

  • 1939 or earlier
    340
  • 1940 to 1949
    470
  • 1950 to 1959
    1,493
  • 1960 to 1969
    1,607
  • 1970 to 1979
    1,301
  • 1980 to 1989
    762
  • 1990 to 1999
    924
  • 2000 to 2009
    854
  • 2010 to 2013
    880
  • 2014 or later
    43

Vehicles Available per Household

Finally, we have data on how many vehicles each household in West Columbia has. The table below breaks down the number of vehicles available per household.

  • No vehicles available
    714
  • 1 vehicle available
    3,371
  • 2 vehicles available
    2,882
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    1,195

Commuting to Work in West Columbia

The time and means of commuting to work are useful metrics to look at because they can be correlated against other data such as income and education level.

Does a longer commuting time indicate a higher average income? If so, has the huge increase in home working during the pandemic changed this?

Using these metrics, we can get a better understanding of the demographics of West Columbia, South Carolina, how they commute, and how that correlates to other data points.

The average travel time is 18 minutes, and the chart below covers the range of travel times across the population of West Columbia.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    163
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    1,121
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    1,880
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    1,980
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    1,338
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    571
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    881
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    0
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    63
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    166
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    175
  • 90 or more minutes
    41

We can also look at the means of transport in West Columbia to see which modes of transport people are using to commute to work.

  • Drove alone
    7,404
  • Carpooled
    690
  • Public transportation
    8
  • Walked
    76
  • Other means
    201
  • Worked from home
    713

Conclusion

Hopefully this article has given you the demographics data you were looking for in West Columbia, South Carolina.

If you need more demographics data, or you need the data listed above in spreadsheet form with more granular grouping, head back to the top of this page where you can purchase the complete demographics data for West Columbia.

Link To or Reference This Page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

  • "West Columbia Average Income, Population and Demographics". NameCensus.com. Accessed on April 27, 2024. https://namecensus.com/demographics/south-carolina/lexington-county/west-columbia/.

  • "West Columbia Average Income, Population and Demographics". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/demographics/south-carolina/lexington-county/west-columbia/. Accessed 27 April, 2024

  • West Columbia Average Income, Population and Demographics. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from https://namecensus.com/demographics/south-carolina/lexington-county/west-columbia/.