66,012 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.0% since 2020)
483 square miles of land · 137 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
18 active community water systems list Columbia County in the area they serve, reporting 52,303 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| VEOLIA WATER PA INC BLOOMSBURG surface water · private · PA4190008 | 29,382 served |
| PA AMERICAN WATER BERWICK groundwater · private · PA4190013 | 15,282 served |
| CATAWISSA MUNICIPAL WATER AUTH groundwater · local government · PA4190011 | 1,644 served |
| BENTON MUNICIPAL WATER AUTH groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · PA4190014 | 1,333 served |
| AQUA PA MIFFLIN TOWNSHIP groundwater · private · PA4190016 | 1,220 served |
| MILLVILLE MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · PA4190017 | 969 served |
| ORANGEVILLE MUNICIPAL WATER AU groundwater · local government · PA4190012 | 508 served |
| BROOKSIDE VILLAGE MHP groundwater · private · PA4190019 | 475 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 147 people were held in Columbia County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 344 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 197.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
5 school districts have their office in Columbia County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $34.8 million — $31.5 million to run schools, about $16,463 per student, plus $253,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $21.4 million local (mostly property tax), $13 million state, $1.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $42 million.
Spent $29.2 million — $26.5 million to run schools, about $17,271 per student, plus $166,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $17.8 million local (mostly property tax), $12.2 million state, $3.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $25.5 million.
Spent $23.5 million — $21.3 million to run schools, about $17,206 per student, plus $389,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $15.5 million local (mostly property tax), $10.2 million state, $1.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $27.1 million.
Spent $14.6 million — $13.6 million to run schools, about $21,952 per student, plus $195,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $8.2 million local (mostly property tax), $7.1 million state, $912,000 federal. Long-term debt: $7.6 million.
Spent $14.2 million — $12.8 million to run schools, about $23,703 per student, plus $173,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.9 million local (mostly property tax), $7.6 million state, $970,000 federal. Long-term debt: $3.4 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Columbia County about $24.4 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
272 bridges in Columbia County: 116 in good condition, 129 fair, and 27 poor (9.9%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| SR 1022 over OLD CHANNEL TO FISH CRK · built 1947 | 1,798 vehicles a day |
| T471 BRIAR CR.BR#3 over E. BR. BRIAR CREEK · built 1956 | 1,001 vehicles a day |
| SR 0254 over TRIB TO FISHING CREEK · built 1923 | 945 vehicles a day |
| SR 4036 over HEMLOCK CREEK · built 1926 | 572 vehicles a day |
| T-720 BENTON BR 3 over WEST CREEK · built 1958 | 240 vehicles a day |
| T-316 CTY BR 31 over SOUTH BRANCH ROARING CR · built 1902 | 200 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $10.8 million of work in Columbia County in fiscal 2025, about $167 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Pennsylvania are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Columbia County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Columbia County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Pennsylvania: the state government and every county in Pennsylvania.
Nearby counties: Montour County (14 mi) · Northumberland County (21 mi) · Luzerne County (24 mi) · Schuylkill County (26 mi) · Sullivan County (28 mi) · Union County (34 mi).