2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Independence, MO vs Columbia, MO

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Highlights
- Household income in Columbia, is 6% more than it is in Independence and is 20% below the National Average.
- Independence unemployment rate is 5.7%.
- Columbia unemployment rate is 3.0%.
 Independence, MOColumbia, MOUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock3.0%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock0.3%1.6%
 Future Job Growth28.5%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes7.9%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock5.4%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$29,042  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$57,463$69,021
 Family Median Income$69,693  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Independence, MOColumbia, MOUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock12.8%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K6.0%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock10.2%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K11.3%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock8.1%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K8.4%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock10.5%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K13.9%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock13.2%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K4.6%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock7.5%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Independence, MOColumbia, MOUnited States
 Management, business, finance11.7%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock6.9%6.5%
 Community, social services1.3%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.0%1.2%
 Education, library4.9%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.8%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology5.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.5%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement2.0%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock8.2%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.8%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.9%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support23.6%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.3%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair10.8%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock7.5%13.1%
Reviews for Independence    10 Reviews

The ice age sent glaciers sweeping south, ending at what is the edge of the Missouri River. Independence, Missouri, has artesian water straight from this glacial melt  More

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Over 11 years ago

I've lived here pretty much all my life, and I have to say, I'm ready to get out. I'm not sure if the crime here has just skyrocketed over recent years, or if I was just  More

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Over 12 years ago

Independence, Missouri is just like any other fairly large, fairly old town. A city approaching 200 years old and having nearly 120,000 residents is going to have both  More

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Reviews for Columbia    41 Reviews

If you are an active person and love to be outdoors and go to college sporting events, Columbia is a great place to live! I run and bike and go to Mizzou events a lot. I  More

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Over 4 years ago

I've live in CoMo for 20 yrs. NOT sure about this state of the art water park??!! There are great parks but nothing else for families. NO zoo, museum, and definitely no  More

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I lived there for a year and hated every minute. Columbia reminded me of the San Francisco of the Midwest. It is overrun with homeless people. Law enforcement is  More

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