Columbia County, Oregon

Columbia County population, land area and income

Columbia County had 54,063 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 658.7 square miles of land. It ranks 17th of 36 in Oregon by population and 34th by land area. That works out to 82.1 people per square mile, near the US average of 96.3, and above the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in Oregon has 46,128 residents; Columbia County is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $81,463 is in the top quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Columbia County's population changed since 2020

Columbia County gained 1,347 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 2.6%. That ranks 9th of 36 in Oregon for growth. The median Oregon county changed by +0.8%, and the state as a whole by +0.7%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Columbia County recorded 1,989 births and 2,437 deaths, a natural change of -448. Net international migration added +109 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +1,816. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 1,816 people.

Where Columbia County is

The Census internal point of Columbia County is at 45.941900, -123.081100. It sits in UTM zone 10N. The map shades Oregon's 36 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Columbia County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Columbia County

6 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Columbia County, 30,833 people together, or 57% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Columbia County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is St. Helens with 14,460.

Counties bordering Columbia County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Columbia County, including 3 across a state line. The most populous is Multnomah County, OR, with 795,897 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Multnomah County

  795,897 people

  42 mi SE

• Washington County

  611,272 people

  27 mi S

• WA

  Clark County, WA

  527,269 people

  31 mi ESE

• WA

  Cowlitz County, WA

  113,982 people

  26 mi NE

• Clatsop County

  41,043 people

  30 mi W

• Tillamook County

  27,264 people

  47 mi SW

• WA

  Wahkiakum County, WA

  4,800 people

  29 mi NW

Distance to Salem and the nearest big city

Salem is 69.3 miles S of Columbia County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Hillsboro, OR (population 110,337), 29.5 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is St. Helens, OR (population 14,460), 14.0 miles away.

Columbia County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Columbia County is 41009: state code 41 for Oregon plus county code 009. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $81,463.