† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
20042024
Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupColumbiaMarylandUnited States
German11.2%11.4%12.5%
Irish9.6%9.3%9.4%
English8.9%8.5%9.5%
Italian5.0%4.4%4.8%
Polish3.0%2.6%2.2%
American2.7%4.1%5.3%
Scottish1.6%1.1%1.3%
Russian1.2%——
African American†20.3%23.6%9.9%
Nigerian2.3%1.1%0.2%
African1.6%1.2%0.5%
Ethiopian1.2%0.7%—
Jamaican1.0%0.7%0.4%
Ghanaian0.6%0.3%—
Guyanese0.4%——
Sierra Leonean0.3%——
Asian Indian4.1%1.7%1.4%
Korean2.5%0.8%0.4%
Chinese2.4%1.3%1.3%
Pakistani0.6%0.3%—
Vietnamese0.5%0.4%0.6%
Filipino0.4%0.9%0.9%
Bangladeshi0.2%——
Nepalese0.2%0.2%—
Mexican2.0%2.0%11.3%
Salvadoran1.9%3.5%0.7%
Puerto Rican1.3%1.2%1.8%
Honduran0.9%0.7%0.3%
Guatemalan0.5%1.2%0.5%
Colombian0.5%0.4%0.4%
Cuban0.3%—0.7%
Dominican0.3%0.5%0.7%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Columbia
Maryland
United States
Median age
39.4
39.5
39.1
Age 18–24
8.6%
8.5%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
17.3%
16.6%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Columbia
Maryland
United States
Median household income
$131,490
$103,678
$84,427
Poverty rate
7.5%
9.5%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
63.6%
43.5%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Columbia
Maryland
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
25.7%
21.1%
22.3%
Spanish
7.1%
9.6%
13.6%
Other Indo-European
4.4%
2.5%
2.0%
Chinese (incl. Mandarin & Cantonese)
2.8%
1.2%
1.1%
Other languages
3.1%
2.5%
0.8%
Religious landscape
Measure
Columbia
Maryland
United States
Catholic
—
14.7%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
—
11.2%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
—
56.6%
51.5%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Columbia, Maryland
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+35.9%
2008
+46.5%
2012
+45.8%
2016
+55.2%
2020
+63.6%
2024
+59.0%
DemocraticRepublican
6 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year. Third-party votes in 2012 are allocated from certified county totals by this place's share of each county's two-party vote — that cycle's precinct source records two-party splits. † 2004 sub-county results are estimated: the source's block-level detail for this cycle was unreliable — either county/municipality-level consolidated reporting (COVID-era) or a precinct-to-block allocation that misplaced votes — so the figures are allocated from the constituent county totals in proportion to the place and scaled to certified totals.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
D
77.9%Harris44,707
18.9%Trump10,831
3.3%
D+59.0
R+4.6
D+60.5
57,421
D
81.2%Biden47,301
17.5%Trump10,226
1.3%
D+63.6
D+8.5
D+59.2
58,271
D
73.8%Clinton39,498
18.7%Trump9,990
7.5%
D+55.2
D+9.4
D+53.1
53,498
D
71.6%Obama37,967
25.8%Romney13,693
2.6%
D+45.8
R+0.8
D+41.9
53,031
D
72.6%Obama38,347
26.1%McCain13,766
1.3%
D+46.5
D+10.6
D+39.3
52,809
D
67.4%Kerry31,808
31.5%Bush14,847
1.2%
D+35.9
—
D+38.4
47,204
Founded in 1967 as a deliberately integrated new town, Columbia has evolved into a dense, diverse CDP where no single racial group holds a majority — a demographic profile that shapes its reliably high Democratic margins in Howard County contests.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 63.6 points in 2020. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 4.6 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 59.0 points.
A population of 104,338, a 44% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $131,490 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Alexandria and Rockville.
Akashic
Political twins — cities
The cities whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
In 2024, Columbia, Maryland voted Democratic by 59.0 points (D+59.0), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 57,421 votes cast, 44,707 went Democratic and 10,831 went Republican.
How many people live in Columbia, Maryland?
Columbia, Maryland has a population of 104,338 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Columbia, Maryland?
Median household income in Columbia, Maryland is $131,490 — above the national median of $80,734. The Maryland state median is $103,678.
What is the political history of Columbia, Maryland?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Columbia, Maryland from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
