Climate

Columbia County is known for its balmy climate, with an annual average temperature of 64 degrees. Some studies suggest its location between the Atlantic and Gulf coasts contributes to generally mild winters.Those warm winters turned the region into a seasonal resort in the late 1800s and early 1900s and gave nearby Augusta much of its early reputation for hospitality and warmth.

The most annual rainfall registered in the Augusta area since records started at the Augusta airport in 1948 was 66.04 inches in 1964. Before the airport started taking measurements, the record was 73.82 inches in 1929.

Relative humidity is moderate. The driest season is autumn, and October is usually the driest month. The greatest rainfall is usually in March, followed by showers in July. Average annual rainfall is about 44 inches.

The average annual snowfall is about 1 inch. Snowfall is light and infrequent. Cold snaps usually occur regularly from mid-November to mid-March.

 

People

 

People QuickFactsColumbia CountyGeorgia
Population definition and source infoPopulation, 2012 estimateNA9,919,945
Population definition and source infoPopulation, 2011 estimate128,1129,812,460
Population definition and source infoPopulation, 2010 (April 1) estimates base124,0539,687,663
Population, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1 definition and source infoPopulation, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012NA2.4%
Population, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1 definition and source infoPopulation, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 20113.3%1.3%
Population definition and source infoPopulation, 2010124,0539,687,653
Persons under 5 years, percent definition and source infoPersons under 5 years, percent, 20116.5%7.0%
Persons under 18 years, percent definition and source infoPersons under 18 years, percent, 201126.6%25.4%
Persons 65 years and over, percent definition and source infoPersons 65 years and over, percent, 201110.5%11.0%
Female persons, percent definition and source infoFemale persons, percent, 201151.4%51.1%
White persons, percent definition and source infoWhite persons, percent, 2011 (a)77.1%63.2%
Black persons, percent definition and source infoBlack persons, percent, 2011 (a)15.8%31.0%
American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent definition and source infoAmerican Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2011 (a)0.4%0.5%
Asian persons, percent definition and source infoAsian persons, percent, 2011 (a)4.0%3.4%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander persons, percent definition and source infoNative Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander persons, percent, 2011 (a)0.2%0.1%
Persons reporting two or more races, percent definition and source infoPersons reporting two or more races, percent, 20112.5%1.8%
Persons of Hispanic or Latino Origin, percent definition and source infoPersons of Hispanic or Latino Origin, percent, 2011 (b)5.3%9.1%
White persons not Hispanic, percent definition and source infoWhite persons not Hispanic, percent, 201172.8%55.5%
Living in same house 1 year & over, percent definition and source infoLiving in same house 1 year & over, percent, 2007-201185.0%83.0%
Foreign born persons, percent definition and source infoForeign born persons, percent, 2007-20116.7%9.7%
Language other than English spoken at home, percent age 5+ definition and source infoLanguage other than English spoken at home, percent age 5+, 2007-20119.4%12.9%
High school graduate or higher, percent of persons age 25+ definition and source infoHigh school graduate or higher, percent of persons age 25+, 2007-201190.6%84.0%
Bachelor’s degree or higher, percent of persons age 25+, 2007-201134.3%27.5%
Veterans definition and source infoVeterans, 2007-201113,129702,919
Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+ definition and source infoMean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2007-201124.127.0
Housing units definition and source infoHousing units, 201150,3314,102,992
Homeownership rate definition and source infoHomeownership rate, 2007-201180.4%66.8%
Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent definition and source infoHousing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2007-20117.5%20.5%
Median value of owner-occupied housing units definition and source infoMedian value of owner-occupied housing units, 2007-2011$169,600$160,200
Households definition and source infoHouseholds, 2007-201143,0703,490,754
Persons per household definition and source infoPersons per household, 2007-20112.802.68
Per capita money income in the past 12 months (2011 dollars) definition and source infoPer capita money income in the past 12 months (2011 dollars), 2007-2011$30,109$25,383
Median household income definition and source infoMedian household income, 2007-2011$66,556$49,736
Persons below poverty level, percent definition and source infoPersons below poverty level, percent, 2007-20117.7%16.5%
Business QuickFactsColumbia CountyGeorgia
Private nonfarm establishments definition and source infoPrivate nonfarm establishments, 20102,132217,0991
Private nonfarm employment definition and source infoPrivate nonfarm employment, 201026,2843,315,2741
Private nonfarm employment, percent change definition and source infoPrivate nonfarm employment, percent change, 2000-201013.0-4.81
Nonemployer establishments definition and source infoNonemployer establishments, 20108,084771,155
Total number of firms definition and source infoTotal number of firms, 200710,081901,105
Black-owned firms, percent definition and source infoBlack-owned firms, percent, 20077.4%20.4%
American Indian- and Alaska Native-owned firms, percent definition and source infoAmerican Indian- and Alaska Native-owned firms, percent, 20070.6%0.7%
Asian-owned firms, percent definition and source infoAsian-owned firms, percent, 20075.7%5.1%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms, percent definition and source infoNative Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms, percent, 2007F0.1%
Hispanic-owned firms, percent definition and source infoHispanic-owned firms, percent, 20073.0%3.6%
Women-owned firms, percent definition and source infoWomen-owned firms, percent, 200732.0%30.9%
Manufacturers shipments definition and source infoManufacturers shipments, 2007 ($1000)2,411,210144,280,774
Merchant wholesaler sales definition and source infoMerchant wholesaler sales, 2007 ($1000)357,458141,962,359
Retail sales definition and source infoRetail sales, 2007 ($1000)1,406,298117,516,907
Retail sales per capita definition and source infoRetail sales per capita, 2007$12,919$12,326
Accommodation and food services sales definition and source infoAccommodation and food services sales, 2007 ($1000)119,07416,976,235
Building permits definition and source infoBuilding permits, 20111,26518,493
Geography QuickFactsColumbia CountyGeorgia
Land area in square miles definition and source infoLand area in square miles, 2010290.0957,513.49
Persons per square mile definition and source infoPersons per square mile, 2010427.6168.4
Persons per square mile definition and source infoFIPS Code07313
Persons per square mile definition and source infoMetropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical AreaAugusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metro Area