Columbia County, Washington

Columbia County population, land area and income

Columbia County had 4,025 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 868.6 square miles of land. It ranks 38th of 39 in Washington by population and 31st by land area. That works out to 4.6 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and in the bottom quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Washington has 69,632 residents, so Columbia County has 6% of the typical county's population.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $66,267 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Columbia County's population changed since 2020

Columbia County gained 72 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 1.8%. That ranks 33rd of 39 in Washington for growth. The median Washington county changed by +3.2%, and the state as a whole by +3.0%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Columbia County recorded 142 births and 269 deaths, a natural change of -127. Net international migration added +11 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +189. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 189 people.

Where Columbia County is

The Census internal point of Columbia County is at 46.292900, -117.911600. It sits in UTM zone 11N. The map shades Washington's 39 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

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Columbia County, 2,471 people together, or 61% 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 Dayton with 2,471.

Counties bordering Columbia County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Columbia County, including 2 across a state line. The most populous is Franklin County, WA, with 101,238 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Franklin County

  101,238 people

  50 mi WNW

• OR

  Umatilla County, OR

  80,491 people

  63 mi SW

• Walla Walla County

  62,068 people

  27 mi W

• Whitman County

  48,399 people

  46 mi NNE

• OR

  Wallowa County, OR

  7,522 people

  60 mi SE

• Garfield County

  2,404 people

  20 mi ENE

Distance to Olympia and the nearest big city

Olympia is 242.0 miles WNW of Columbia County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Spokane, WA (population 230,609), 97.6 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Walla Walla, WA (population 33,901), 25.7 miles away.

Columbia County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Columbia County is 53013: state code 53 for Washington plus county code 013. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $66,267.