Columbia

Sister cities

• Accra
• Kaiserslautern
• Chelyabinsk
• Plovdiv
• Taichung
• Cluj-Napoca

History

In May 1540, a Spanish expedition led by Hernando de Soto traversed what is now Columbia while exploring the interior of the southeastern United States. The expedition produced the earliest surviving written account of the area, then part of the regional Cofitachequi chiefdom of the Mississippian culture. During the colonial era, the Congaree inhabited several villages along the Congaree River, where the Broad and Saluda rivers converge to form the Congaree River. As English settlement expanded into the South Carolina backcountry during the eighteenth century, colonists established Congaree Fort on the river's west bank as a frontier outpost and trading post. In 1754, the colonial government of the Province of South Carolina established a ferry connecting the fort with the growing settlements on the east bank, encouraging further settlement in the surrounding area. The settlement occupied a strategic location at the fall line, where rivers descending from the Piedmont become difficult to navigate farther upstream. As the head of navigation on the Santee River system and a natural crossing point between South Carolina's coastal and interior regions, the area developed into an important transportation and trading center long before the General Assembly selected the site for the new state capital in 1786. Surveyor John Guignard laid out Columbia as one of the first planned cities in the United States, five years before Pierre Charles L'Enfant's plan for Washington, D.C. The city was organized as a two-mile-square grid of 400 blocks with unusually broad streets and avenues. Assembly and Senate streets were each wide, while the remaining streets measured . Blocks were divided into half-acre lots that were sold to prospective residents, with commissioners reserving…

Geography

Columbia is located near the geographic center of South Carolina at the fall line, where the Piedmont meets the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The city developed at the confluence of the Broad and Saluda rivers, which join to form the Congaree River, and lies roughly halfway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Columbia's position at the head of navigation on the Congaree River contributed to its selection as South Carolina's state capital in 1786 and later supported its growth as a transportation, industrial, and commercial center. Today, the Broad, Saluda, and Congaree rivers remain defining features of the city's landscape, supporting parks, trails, and recreational opportunities. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (1.68%) is water. Columbia has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild winters. Owing to its inland location, relatively low elevation, sandy soils, and urban heat island effect, the city frequently records some of the highest summer temperatures in South Carolina. Annual precipitation averages about , with rainfall occurring throughout the year but peaking during the summer because of frequent afternoon thunderstorms. Columbia is the principal city of the Columbia metropolitan area, the second-most populous metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in South Carolina after Greenville. Defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the Columbia MSA encompasses six counties—Calhoun, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lexington, Richland, and Saluda—and had an estimated population of 879,918 in 2025. Although the city itself had an estimated population of 147,035 in 2025, Columbia's continuously developed urban area extends beyond its…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,480
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  10,530
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,388
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  8,109
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  7,595
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,321
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,447
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,427

Largest nearby schools

• Spring Valley High
  High · Columbia · 2,187 students · 17.9:1 ratio
• Ridge View High
  High · Columbia · 1,711 students · 18.8:1 ratio
• Westwood High
  High · Blythewood · 1,684 students · 17.9:1 ratio
• Richland Northeast High
  High · Columbia · 1,359 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• E. L. Wright Middle
  Elementary · Columbia · 1,354 students · 15.6:1 ratio
• A. C. Flora High
  High · Columbia · 1,352 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• Lower Richland High
  High · Hopkins · 1,244 students · 15.6:1 ratio
• Summit Parkway Middle
  Elementary · Columbia · 1,154 students · 15.6:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3 — 2026-02-26
  5 km WSW of Irmo, South Carolina
• M 2.84 — 2026-02-13
  4 km WSW of Irmo, South Carolina
• M 2.72 — 2026-01-20
  5 km ESE of Elgin, South Carolina
• M 2.57 — 2025-04-26
  6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
• M 2.5 — 2024-09-15
  6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
• M 2.65 — 2024-03-09
  5 km E of Elgin, South Carolina