The typical owner-occupied home in Columbia is worth about $120,000, 58% below the North Carolina median of $288,900 and 64% below the national median of $332,700. The median household earns $25,893 a year, so the median home costs 4.6 times the median income (4.0 times for North Carolina). 49% of occupied homes here are lived in by their owners, and 53% of those owners still have a mortgage.
Columbia at a glance
| Columbia | North Carolina | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home value | $120,000 | $288,900 | $332,700 |
| Median property tax paid per year | – | $1,896 | $3,119 |
| Median household income | $25,893 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Homes lived in by their owners | 49% | 67% | 65% |
| Owner homes with a mortgage | 53% | 61% | 61% |
| Median monthly costs, owners with a mortgage | $1,058 | $1,631 | $1,963 |
| Those costs as a share of the owners' income | 19.5% | 19.4% | 21.0% |
| Median rent | $678 | $1,228 | $1,413 |
| Rent as a share of renters' income | 42.1% | 29.5% | 30.6% |
| Median year homes were built | 1951 | 1991 | 1980 |
| Vacant homes | 33.4% | 12.5% | 10.1% |
| People below the poverty line | 27.0% | 13.0% | 12.5% |
| Population | 759 | 10,730,404 | 334,922,499 |
Household budgets and debt in Columbia
In Columbia, the typical owner with a mortgage spends 19.5% of household income on housing and the typical renter spends 42.1%. Above 30% is generally considered cost-burdened, which leaves less room for other debts.
27.0% of residents live below the federal poverty line, compared with 13.0% in North Carolina.
If debts are getting hard to manage, the usual options, from mildest to most serious, are: a budget and a call to your lenders to ask for a hardship plan; a debt management plan through a nonprofit credit counselor, which can lower interest rates; a debt consolidation loan or, for homeowners, a cash-out refinance or home equity loan; debt settlement, where a company negotiates to pay less than you owe; and bankruptcy.
Under the Federal Trade Commission's rules, debt settlement companies can't charge a fee until they have settled at least one of your debts. Settling can hurt your credit and forgiven debt may be taxable, so compare it with credit counseling first. Time limits for collectors to sue differ by state and by type of debt; check with your state attorney general or a lawyer before relying on one.
Homeowners can sometimes pay off high-interest debt with their home's equity. With the median Columbia home worth $120,000 and 47% of owners mortgage-free, many owners have equity to draw on, but it turns unsecured debt into debt secured by your home.
Questions about debt relief in Columbia
What is the median home value in Columbia?
About $120,000 for owner-occupied homes, according to the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 American Community Survey.
How much of their income do Columbia households spend on housing?
With a median household income of $25,893, owners with a mortgage spend a median 19.5% on housing and renters 42.1%.
More about Columbia
- Mortgage Refinance in Columbia
- Home Buying in Columbia
- Home Equity Loans in Columbia
- Guides and quotes for mortgage refinance on our sister site, MortgageRefinance.com
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates; Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, week of November 12, 2026. Estimates for small places have wide margins of error. About our data