City safety & data profile

West ColumbiaSC

West Columbia, SC is a 16K-resident city in Lexington County with a median household income of $56,912.

Lexington County, South Carolina. Federal health, economic, and safety indicators for West Columbia, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, CDC PLACES, and CMS Hospital Compare. West Columbia has a population larger than 32% of the 4,640 U.S. cities Areazine tracks, a median home value of $201,700, and 2 hospitals serving the surrounding area.

Data updated 2026-09-05

16K
Population (place)
Bottom 33%
By size
$56,912
Median income (place)
$201,700
Median home (place)
13.7%
Poverty rate (place)
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The read on West Columbia

West Columbia posts a median household income higher than 18% of U.S. cities Areazine tracks, where 2 hospitals serve the West Columbia area.

Bottom 19%
by median income, US cities
2
hospitals in & near West Columbia

Where West Columbia income ranks nationally

Median household income vs. every place Areazine profiles (place-level ACS)

$56,912 Bottom 18% higher than 18% of 3,889 places Areazine profiles

West Columbia $0 $260,000 every profiled place, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more places Areazine profiles. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) · 2024 ACS 5-year

Largest cities in SC

Population among 50 SC places with 10,000+ residents and ACS income on Areazine. Tooltip shows the income rank in the same pool.

residents

What this shows Columbia is the largest SC city on this list; Five Forks leads median income.

Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) As of 2024 ACS 5-year

Highest median incomes in SC

Median household income among the same 50-city pool. Tooltip shows the population rank.

median

What this shows Five Forks posts the highest place-level median income in SC; Columbia is largest by headcount.

Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) As of 2024 ACS 5-year

The quick read

Reading West Columbia, SC beyond the headline numbers

West Columbia sits inside Lexington County, South Carolina, at roughly 33.99°N, -81.07°W. Population 16,060, $56,912 median household income. Median home value $201,700, median rent $1,201. Poverty rate 13.7%, read against that income figure since two cities on the same median can differ underneath it.

2 hospitals in/around West Columbia, 3/5 avg rating, 1 with an ER.

Poverty in West Columbia, SC stands at 13.7%, above the midpoint of reporting cities. A median income can look comfortable while a share this size sits well beneath it, which is why the two figures belong together.

The median home in West Columbia costs roughly 3.5 times median household income, below the midpoint for reporting cities, so ownership remains reachable on a typical local wage.

Remote work covers 9.8% of West Columbia workers, under the midpoint for reporting cities.

Among the CDC measures on this page, stroke departs furthest from its peer median: 4% in West Columbia, the highest-prevalence quarter of the 3,759 cities reporting that measure.

Public transit carries 0% of West Columbia workers, a smaller share than at least three quarters of reporting cities.

Sources: U.S. Census ACS, CDC PLACES, CMS Hospital Compare, plus live alerts for West Columbia from FEMA, NOAA, FDA, and CPSC. Economic comparison bars use the unweighted average across tracked Census places with a reported value, not a household-weighted national median.

Population (place)
16,060
West Columbia · Census Place
Median Income (place)
$56,912
-36% vs avg
Median Home Value (place)
$201,700
-51% vs avg
Median Age (place)
38.6
years · ACS place

10-Year Trends 2013–2024

County-level trend (Lexington County): West Columbia's own historical series isn't separately published by the Census Bureau, so these year-over-year figures track the surrounding county, not the city alone.

20132024
Population
305K+14%
Median Income
$77,408+43%
Median Home Value
$234,500+67%
Poverty Rate
11.1%-16%
Unemployment
4.4%-52%

Economics

Economics indicators for West Columbia, SC
IndicatorValue
Median Rent
$1,201/mo
Poverty Rate
13.7% +10% vs avg
Unemployment 4.7%
Bachelor's Degree+ 40.9%
Work From Home 9.8%
Public Transit 0%

Population

White 64.2%
African American 16.2%
Asian 4.3%
Two or More Ethnicities 2.9%

Health Profile 15 measures

Health Indicators

High Blood Pressure
38.3%
Obesity
36.2%
Short Sleep Duration
35%
Physical Inactivity
28.1%
Frequent Mental Distress
16.4%
Binge Drinking
14.4%
Frequent Physical Distress
13.9%
Diabetes
13.3%
Current Smoking
12.9%
Lack of Health Insurance
12.7%

Preventive Care

Dental Visit 60%
Annual Checkup 81.9%

Other Measures

Current Asthma
9.2%
Coronary Heart Disease
7.1%
Stroke
4%

Hospitals 2 total

Rating Distribution
★★★★★
0
★★★★
0
★★★
1
★★
0
★
0
Average Rating
3/5
Total Hospitals
2
With ER
1
LEXINGTON MEDICAL CENTER
WEST COLUMBIA · Acute Care Hospitals · ER
★★★☆☆

What alerts and safety updates affect West Columbia?

No area-tagged alerts are on record for West Columbia right now. New federal and counterpart-agency notices still land in the site feed as agencies publish them.

City alert dispatch desk

Sheet SC-WEST-COLUMBIA · West Columbia

West Columbia: no area-tagged alerts on record — state hubs carry the live CAP stream.

  • FEED-QUIET No tagged alerts
  • LEAD-NONE Feed idle
  • DESK-IDLE Awaiting feed

Counts reflect published articles tagged to West Columbia; untagged NOAA county warnings may still appear in the site feed. Browse South Carolina state hubs · Methodology

Read with this city profile

Tracking Safety Alerts in Your Area

How Areazine tags West Columbia in the CAP feed
All safety guides →

Frequently Asked Questions 6

What is the population of West Columbia, SC? ▼
West Columbia, SC has a population of 16,060 people, located in Lexington County, South Carolina.
What is the median household income in West Columbia? ▼
The median household income in West Columbia, SC is $56,912 per year, per the U.S. Census ACS. The poverty rate is 13.7%.
What is the median home value in West Columbia? ▼
The median home value in West Columbia, SC is $201,700. Median rent is $1,201/month.
What are the top health concerns in West Columbia? ▼
The top health indicators in West Columbia include High Blood Pressure (38.3%), Obesity (36.2%), Short Sleep Duration (35%). Data from CDC PLACES.
How many hospitals are in West Columbia? ▼
West Columbia has 2 hospitals with an average rating of 3/5 stars. 1 have emergency departments.
What is the median age in West Columbia? ▼
The median age in West Columbia, SC is 38.6 years. 40.9% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher.

Nationwide cities with similar poverty or income 8

Two ACS-derived peer sets for West Columbia, both outside South Carolina so the neighborhoods are not the geographic nearby list below.

Similar poverty rate

Nearest place-level ACS poverty rates outside SC (13.7% here).

Phoenix, AZ 13.7% Kenosha, WI 13.7% Ogden, UT 13.7% Boynton Beach, FL 13.7%

Similar median income

Nearest place-level ACS median household incomes outside SC ($56,912 here).

Marion, IL $56,912 Magalia, CA $56,920 Menomonie, WI $56,889 Burlington, NC $56,880

Compare West Columbia with another city

Pick a second U.S. city to open a side-by-side profile on population, income, health, and hospitals, the same federal datasets as this page.

Quick picks:

Nearby Cities 8

Cayce, SC 14K Columbia, SC 142K Saint Andrews, SC 21K Oak Grove, SC 10K Forest Acres, SC 11K Seven Oaks, SC 15K Dentsville, SC 14K Irmo, SC 12K
All cities in South Carolina → Compare West Columbia vs Cayce → All comparisons → Browse all cities

Using West Columbia's profile

Use this as a starting research checklist, not a verdict on whether to live here.

  • Check live recalls, weather and hazard alerts scoped to the West Columbia area before relying on national headlines. Check your area
  • Read the poverty rate alongside the income figure, two places with the same median can have very different realities.
  • Compare West Columbia against South Carolina peers on any ranking lens. Explore South Carolina

Population and economics (income, home value, poverty, education) are place-level U.S. Census ACS; health is CDC PLACES; hospital counts reflect facilities in and around the city. County-level trends are labeled when shown.

Data Sources

All data on this page comes from official U.S. government sources. Population and economic data from the Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates, place geography). Health data from the CDC PLACES program (2023). Hospital ratings from CMS Hospital Compare (2024). Climate data from NOAA. Education data from NCES. Cost of living from Bureau of Economic Analysis. Crime statistics, where referenced on Areazine, originate from the FBI Crime Data Explorer. Housing market figures referenced on Areazine come from HUD Fair Market Rents. Census economics and population are at place geography; some health and hospital indicators are reported at the county level (Lexington County) where that is the smallest published unit.

Every figure on Areazine is published directly from official U.S. government sources, no number is typed in by an editor. City demographic and health figures are compiled directly from U.S. Census (place-level ACS), CDC, and CMS releases, updated quarterly within 30 days of upstream release. County-level trends are labeled when shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.