Columbia population made modest gains since 2010, census says. Here’s how the data shifted
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South Carolina 2020 census data
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Columbia’s population has grown in the last decade, but not as quickly as other large cities in South Carolina.
The federal government on Thursday released initial 2020 U.S. Census numbers, and they showed Columbia with a population of 136,632. That’s a 5.7% gain over 2010, when the capital city’s population was 129,272
Columbia was once South Carolina’s most populous city, but that title now resides with Charleston. The 2020 census data indicates 150,227 people live in Charleston. That’s up 25.1% from 2010.
Meanwhile, the city of Greenville’s population hit 70,720, per the census, up from 58,409 in 2010. That was a 21% hike.
Closer to Columbia, the town of Lexington saw solid growth in the last 10 years. The in-town population went from 17,870 to 23,568. That was a gain of nearly 32%.
Richland County saw its population go from 384,504 to 416,147 from 2010 to 2020. That was an 8.2% increase. Meanwhile, over in neighboring Lexington County, the population swelled from 262,391 to 293,991 in the last decade, good for a 12% gain.
Overall, the state of South Carolina saw its population grow steadily in the past decade, from 4.6 million to 5.1 million, an increase of about 10.67%.
Columbia, to be sure, has seen new development in the last decade. There have been a host of new private student housing units built across the city, particularly in the vicinity of the University of South Carolina.
There has been progress at the BullStreet District, where the city and Greenville’s Hughes Development are working to overhaul the massive 181-acre former state mental hospital site. There are now occupied townhomes and a senior living facility on the site, and the historic Babcock Building is being renovated into hundreds of new apartments.
And the Main Street District downtown has seen growth. According to an analysis from downtown advocacy group City Center Partnership, there were 550 people living in the Main Street District in 2011. By 2019, that number had tripled to more than 1,700. That came as Main Street north of the State House was revitalized with bars, restaurants, theaters and hotels.
But Columbia’s relatively flat overall growth has been a topic of discussion with city leaders for a while. Some have pointed to the tax structure in Richland County as a possible issue.
Last year the city commissioned a sprawling 81-page property tax analysis, at the cost of $25,000, that said the Columbia area had the highest property taxes in the state among large metros.
That study was done by Rebecca Gunnlaugsson, principal at Acuitas Economics and former chief economist with the state Department of Commerce. The study suggested that, in order for Columbia to become more competitive with places like Greenville and Charleston, the city, Richland County and Richland County’s school districts need to work collaboratively to reduce commercial property tax rates, lobby the state government to overhaul part of its tax code, and combine city and county services that are overlapping, among other steps.
Columbia City Council has put together a committee to analyze the tax study.
Columbia also has seen in the last decade the closure of two massive in-city public housing apartment complexes — Gonzales Gardens and Allen Benedict Court — each of which once housed hundreds of residents. City officials have noted in the past that many of those residents were eventually relocated to new housing outside of city limits.
Elsewhere in the state, Rock Hill continues to grow. It went from 66,154 residents in 2010 to 74,372 in 2020. That’s a 12.4% bump.
And in Myrtle Beach, long a top SC tourist destination, the number of residents calling it home is on the rise. Population rose there from 27,109 to 35,682 in the last decade. That’s a bold 31.6% increase.
This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 2:22 PM.
