Columbus vs Saluda

A side-by-side comparison of Columbus and Saluda: population, income, housing, and more.

Columbus and Saluda are places in North Carolina. This page compares them across population, income, housing, education, commuting, and how each has changed since 2019.

Columbus has the higher population (1,166 vs 676 in Saluda). Columbus has the higher median household income ($56,083 vs $52,946 in Saluda). Saluda has the higher median home value ($321,000 vs $210,100 in Columbus).

Population, income & housing

	Columbus	Saluda
Population	1,166	676
Median age	50.9 yrs	60.0 yrs
Median household income	$56,083	$52,946
Median home value	$210,100	$321,000
Median gross rent	$1,002	$1,339
Housing units	550	524
Homeownership rate	59.8%	85.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher	22.7%	50.8%
Unemployment rate	4.7%	7.0%

Trends (ACS 5-year, 2019–2023)

	Columbus	Saluda
Population	1,167 → 1,166 (-0.1%)	891 → 676 (-24.1%)
Median household income	$34,375 → $56,083 (+63.2%)	$48,375 → $52,946 (+9.4%)
Median home value	$157,600 → $210,100 (+33.3%)	$259,500 → $321,000 (+23.7%)
Median gross rent	$692 → $1,002 (+44.8%)	$994 → $1,339 (+34.7%)

Columbus

Population

1,1671,166

Median household income

$34,375$56,083

Median home value

$157,600$210,100

Median gross rent

$692$1,002

Saluda

Population

891676

Median household income

$48,375$52,946

Median home value

$259,500$321,000

Median gross rent

$994$1,339

Age & race/ethnicity

Age distribution (share)

	Columbus	Saluda
Under 5	2.5%	4.0%
5 to 17	12.2%	14.3%
18 to 24	6.9%	2.8%
25 to 34	11.9%	2.8%
35 to 44	9.9%	9.6%
45 to 54	10.3%	9.2%
55 to 64	17.9%	13.9%
65 to 74	14.7%	23.4%
75 and over	13.8%	20.0%

Race & ethnicity (share)

	Columbus	Saluda
White (non-Hispanic)	70.0%	89.9%
Black or African American	4.3%	1.8%
American Indian & Alaska Native	1.3%	0.1%
Asian	0.0%	0.7%
Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander	0.0%	0.0%
Some other race	0.7%	0.0%
Two or more races	4.9%	6.8%
Hispanic or Latino	18.9%	0.6%

Educational attainment (age 25+)

Share of adults 25+

	Columbus	Saluda
No high school diploma	15.1%	6.2%
High school graduate	26.2%	22.1%
Some college or associate's	36.0%	20.8%
Bachelor's degree	16.3%	32.8%
Graduate or professional degree	6.4%	18.0%

Commute to work

How workers get to work (share)

	Columbus	Saluda
Drove alone	79.4%	64.1%
Carpooled	13.6%	16.7%
Public transit	0.0%	0.0%
Walked	1.6%	5.7%
Bicycle	0.0%	0.0%
Worked from home	5.4%	11.4%
Other means	0.0%	2.0%

Housing

Units in structure (share)

	Columbus	Saluda
1-unit, detached	67.8%	90.6%
1-unit, attached	0.0%	0.4%
2 to 4 units	15.3%	1.3%
5 to 19 units	4.4%	0.0%
20 or more units	4.9%	0.0%
Mobile home & other	7.6%	7.6%

Poverty & households

	Columbus	Saluda
Poverty rate	15.2%	18.8%
Average household size	2.18	2.15
Mean commute (minutes)	22	28
Median year structure built	1973	1966