Columbus County vs Edgecombe County

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

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

Columbus County has the higher population (50,453 vs 48,777 in Edgecombe County). Edgecombe County has the higher median household income ($48,480 vs $48,184 in Columbus County). Columbus County has the higher median home value ($128,300 vs $116,800 in Edgecombe County).

Population, income & housing

	Columbus County	Edgecombe County
Population	50,453	48,777
Median age	42.4 yrs	41.7 yrs
Median household income	$48,184	$48,480
Median home value	$128,300	$116,800
Median gross rent	$775	$818
Housing units	23,560	23,258
Homeownership rate	72.3%	59.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.1%	16.7%
Unemployment rate	4.7%	8.0%

Trends (ACS 5-year, 2019–2023)

	Columbus County	Edgecombe County
Population	56,068 → 50,453 (-10.0%)	52,648 → 48,777 (-7.4%)
Median household income	$37,628 → $48,184 (+28.1%)	$36,866 → $48,480 (+31.5%)
Median home value	$88,900 → $128,300 (+44.3%)	$85,700 → $116,800 (+36.3%)
Median gross rent	$633 → $775 (+22.4%)	$695 → $818 (+17.7%)

Columbus County

Population

56,06850,453

Median household income

$37,628$48,184

Median home value

$88,900$128,300

Median gross rent

$633$775

Edgecombe County

Population

52,64848,777

Median household income

$36,866$48,480

Median home value

$85,700$116,800

Median gross rent

$695$818

Age & race/ethnicity

Age distribution (share)

	Columbus County	Edgecombe County
Under 5	5.2%	5.8%
5 to 17	15.5%	17.2%
18 to 24	8.5%	7.6%
25 to 34	12.3%	12.5%
35 to 44	11.5%	10.9%
45 to 54	12.7%	11.1%
55 to 64	13.9%	14.5%
65 to 74	12.0%	12.5%
75 and over	8.5%	7.9%

Race & ethnicity (share)

	Columbus County	Edgecombe County
White (non-Hispanic)	59.0%	35.2%
Black or African American	28.6%	55.8%
American Indian & Alaska Native	3.0%	0.3%
Asian	0.4%	0.2%
Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander	0.0%	0.1%
Some other race	0.1%	0.1%
Two or more races	3.4%	2.5%
Hispanic or Latino	5.5%	5.8%

Educational attainment (age 25+)

Share of adults 25+

	Columbus County	Edgecombe County
No high school diploma	13.5%	15.6%
High school graduate	36.7%	38.1%
Some college or associate's	34.8%	29.6%
Bachelor's degree	10.1%	11.7%
Graduate or professional degree	4.9%	5.0%

Commute to work

How workers get to work (share)

	Columbus County	Edgecombe County
Drove alone	84.9%	78.8%
Carpooled	7.6%	8.9%
Public transit	0.0%	0.8%
Walked	2.1%	1.2%
Bicycle	0.0%	0.1%
Worked from home	4.8%	8.0%
Other means	0.5%	2.3%

Housing

Units in structure (share)

	Columbus County	Edgecombe County
1-unit, detached	62.8%	61.8%
1-unit, attached	0.5%	1.0%
2 to 4 units	3.5%	9.5%
5 to 19 units	2.1%	4.1%
20 or more units	0.9%	1.2%
Mobile home & other	30.1%	22.4%

Poverty & households

	Columbus County	Edgecombe County
Poverty rate	18.8%	21.9%
Average household size	2.49	2.46
Mean commute (minutes)	28	23
Median year structure built	1981	1977