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Columbus is a small town of 1,071 people in Polk County, North Carolina. It's about 27 miles from Spartanburg, SC and 78 miles from Charlotte, NC, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 87°F and winter highs 50°F, with about 5 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $266k and rent runs about $983 a month.
1,071people
$266kTypical home
$983/moRent
87° / 50°Summer / winter
5"Snow
241Sunny days
115Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 1,071
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 285 people per sq mi
- 78 mi to Charlotte, NC
- 27 mi to Spartanburg, SC
- 15 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $266k (≈$1,676/mo)
- Median rent $983/mo
- Median household income $60k
- Property tax about 0.7% of value
- 5.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 87°F
- Winter highs around 50°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 63°F)
- 241 sunny days a year (91 totally clear)
- 124 cloudy days a year
- 38 of 90 winter days are gray
- 115 days a year with rain or snow
- 5" of snow a year
- 2 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- Rarely drops below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Very low violent crime (86 per 100k)
- Low property crime (1,206 per 100k)
People
- Median age 54
- 21% of households have kids
- 31% are 65 or older
- 29% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 3% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 26 min
- 1% walk or take transit to work
- 23 mi to AVL airport
- 72 mi to CLT (major hub)
- 26 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 70% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1976
- 78% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Hilly terrain
- Elevation 1,093 ft
- 203 mi to the ocean
- 57 mi to a big lake
- 3 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 22 mi to the nearest ski area
- 4 mi to the nearest campground
- 30 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 437 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 17 bars within 25 mi
- 94 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 1 music venue or club within 25 mi
- 17 museums within 25 mi
- 17 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 20 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 15% of North Carolina districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 9 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 13 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- 8 mi to the nearest dog park
- 14 congregations per 10k people
- 16 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Polk County: R+25 in 2024
- North Carolina: R+3 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Low hurricane risk
- Moderate tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- Low earthquake risk
- Moderate flood risk
- Moderate drought risk
- Low winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk
Some of this place's Census numbers are blended with county figures because its survey sample is small.