CITY PROFILE
Columbia, SC
“Everything's cheap until you realize why nobody's staying.”
By the numbers
| Typical home value | $256K · Zillow, May 2026 (ZHVI) |
|---|---|
| Typical rent | $1,537/mo · Zillow, May 2026 (ZORI) |
| Average temperature | 17.5°C · warmest 27.9°C · coolest 6.2°C · NASA POWER |
| Annual precipitation | 1150 mm · NASA POWER |
| Sunshine (solar energy) | 4.54 kWh/m²/day · NASA POWER (annual mean) |
| Metro size rank (US) | #72 · Zillow SizeRank |
Match scores
- Affordable to buy94
- Affordable to rent80
- Climate comfort86
- Plenty of sunshine60
- Big-city amenities53
Scores are 0–100, normalised across the metros we cover, derived from the sourced figures above (higher = better on that factor). A research aid, not a recommendation to move. Job market, safety, and healthcare access need key-gated feeds (BLS, FBI, Census) not yet wired — see the methodology.