2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Columbia, SC vs Palo Alto, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Palo Alto, is 299% more than it is in Columbia and is 65% above the National Average.
- Columbia unemployment rate is 5.2%.
- Palo Alto unemployment rate is 3.5%.
 Columbia, SCPalo Alto, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock3.5%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock2.5%1.6%
 Future Job Growth27.4%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes8.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$32,954  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$194,782$69,021
 Family Median Income$73,526  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Columbia, SCPalo Alto, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock5.2%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K4.2%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock3.1%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K8.9%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock2.9%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K7.4%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock4.6%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K10.5%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock12.8%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K5.0%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock49.5%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Columbia, SCPalo Alto, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance16.7%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock29.0%6.5%
 Community, social services2.4%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock3.7%1.2%
 Education, library9.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock3.5%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.2%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock1.1%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.6%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock1.6%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.1%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.3%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support22.6%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.1%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair3.9%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock2.5%13.1%
Reviews for Columbia    50 Reviews

Over 2 years ago

I love living in Columbia! I recently graduated from USC and plan to stay. I read the reviews posted here and it shows that like many cities, your experience will depend  More

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Loved living in Columbia, SC prior to my job transfer. It's the perfect size - plenty to do, but still a laid back place. People are extremely friendly, there are  More

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Columbia is such a unique and underrated place. It has a lot of character and history, and good nature trails. Everything feels accessible (by car) and you can get from  More

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Reviews for Palo Alto    8 Reviews

The Bay Area in general, but Palo Alto specifically provides many of the qualities sought by many; the climate is beautiful, there is access to cultural and recreational  More

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Over 17 years ago

Very  More

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Over 18 years ago

VTA and SamsTrans and Caltrain all provide good service and most times frequency of service is  More

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