| | Columbia, MD | Palo Alto, CA | United States |
| Population | 105,086 | 68,624 | 329,725,481 |
| Female Population | 51.9% | 51.6% | 50.5% |
| Male Population | 48.1% | 48.4% | 49.5% |
| Median Age | 38.9 | 41.8 | 38.4 |
| space3 | | | |
| Population - 2010 | 98,379 | 64,506 | 309,327,143 |
| Population - 2000 | 88,254 | 58,598 | 285,036,114 |
| Population - 1990 | 75,883 | 55,900 | 251,960,433 |
| Pop. 2000 to Now | 23.2% | 14.4% | 15.6% |
| Pop. 1990 to Now | 43.3% | 19.9% | 30.8% |
| space4 | | | |
| Population Density | 3,290.5 | 2,875.2 | 93.4 |
| Land Area | 31.9 | 23.9 | 3,531,905.4 |
| Water Area | 0.3 | 1.9 | 264,836.8 |
| space | | | |
| Est. Total Population By Age | | | |
| | Columbia, MD | Palo Alto, CA | United States |
| Age 0 to 4 | 5.5% | 4.7% | 5.9% |
| Age 5 to 9 | 5.4% | 5.6% | 6.1% |
| Age 10 to 14 | 6.4% | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| Age 15 to 17 | 3.9% | 5.0% | 3.9% |
| Age 18 to 20 | 3.6% | 2.8% | 4.0% |
| Age 21 to 24 | 5.2% | 3.7% | 5.2% |
| Age 25 to 34 | 14.4% | 12.2% | 13.8% |
| Age 35 to 44 | 14.1% | 12.1% | 12.9% |
| Age 45 to 54 | 13.3% | 14.7% | 12.6% |
| Age 55 to 59 | 6.8% | 7.4% | 6.7% |
| Age 60 to 64 | 5.8% | 5.6% | 6.3% |
| Age 65 to 74 | 8.9% | 8.3% | 9.6% |
| Age 75 to 84 | 4.7% | 6.0% | 4.5% |
| Age 85 and over | 2.1% | 4.2% | 1.9% |
| space1 | | | |
| Race | | | |
| | Columbia, MD | Palo Alto, CA | United States |
| White | 44.8% | 50.0% | 59.4% |
| Black | 27.2% | 2.1% | 12.2% |
| Asian | 13.3% | 35.0% | 5.6% |
| Native American | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.6% |
| Hawaiian, Pacific Islander | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Other | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| Two or More Races | 5.0% | 5.4% | 3.2% |
| Hispanic | 8.6% | 7.0% | 18.4% |
| space2 | | | |
| Marriage & Family | | | |
| | Columbia, MD | Palo Alto, CA | United States |
| Married Population | 49.7% | 58.5% | 49.8% |
| Currently Married | 48.3% | 57.8% | 48.0% |
| Married but Separated | 1.4% | 0.7% | 1.8% |
| Single Population | 50.3% | 41.5% | 50.2% |
| Never Married | 34.8% | 29.6% | 33.8% |
| Divorced | 10.1% | 7.1% | 10.8% |
| Widowed | 5.4% | 4.8% | 5.6% |
| space5 | | | |
| Household Size | 2.55 | 2.62 | 2.60 |
| Households | 40,937 | 26,007 | 124,010,992 |
| Family Households | 27,463 | 17,570 | 80,755,759 |
| Married couple, w/children | 30.4% | 43.2% | 30.5% |
| Married couple, no children | 41.4% | 43.7% | 42.9% |
| Non Family Households | 13,474 | 8,437 | 43,255,233 |
| Single householder, w/children | 14.3% | 6.7% | 15.8% |
| Single householder, no children | 13.9% | 6.5% | 10.8% |