Best PlacesColumbia County, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Columbia County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Columbia County ranks 662nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Columbia County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Columbia County
The parts of Columbia County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Bloomsburg
More adults hold degrees, crime runs lower, and schools score higher.
Millville
It is quieter and more households have young kids.
Benton
More homes sit empty and streets are more car-dependent.
Catawissa
Incomes run lower and local pay stretches less far.
Berwick
Prices have run up less, though tree cover is thinner.
Scores across Columbia County run from about the 17th to the 87th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Columbia County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Columbia County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of counties
- School gradeB+, better than 89% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 86% of counties
Where Columbia County ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 66 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 16% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 17% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Columbia County
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Columbia County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,749, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Columbia County's effective rate of 1.11%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Columbia County
Columbia County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Columbia County.
Who works in Columbia County, and how
Work in Columbia County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Columbia County
Columbia County has more late-night spots per resident than 86% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Columbia County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Columbia County growing, and who is moving in?
Columbia County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Philadelphia, PA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Columbia County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Columbia County, month by month
Columbia County sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 65° | 51° | 38° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 68° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Columbia County
The nearest airport, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 101 miles away.
The best schools in and around Columbia County
Schools across Columbia County average a B+, better than 89% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Hartman El CtrA+ · 80% proficient
- Central Columbia El SchA+ · 73% proficient
- Beaver-main El SchA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central Columbia MsA · 66% proficient
- Southern Columbia MsA · 60% proficient
- Bloomsburg Area MsB− · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Central Columbia ShsA+ · 83% proficient
- Mount Carmel Area HsA− · 67% proficient
- Benton Area HsA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Columbia County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Columbia County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Columbia County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Columbia County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Columbia County
Is Columbia County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Columbia County ranks 662nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, walkability, and good schools, and lowest on state infrastructure and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Columbia County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $210,422. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $66,749 median income, cost of living beats 43% of counties.
Is Columbia County safe?
Yes, Columbia County is safer than 86% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $223 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Columbia County?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 21. That works out to about 66 pleasant days a year, more than 14% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Columbia County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Bloomsburg, Millville, and Benton. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Columbia County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Columbia County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Columbia County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Columbia County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Columbia County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Columbia County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Columbia County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Columbia County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Columbia County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.