In addition, the most interesting feature of this body of work is the precision of the results. The ability to venture over to the U.S. Census website and pull numbers related to Columbia (and even smaller sections of Columbia) has been around for quite awhile. However, there are drawbacks. The U.S. Census does not draw lines that neatly coincide with Columbia Village Boundaries. In addition, outparcels – such as Sewell’s Orchard or Beaverbrook are difficult to remove from that data available. The Columbia Association has gone the extra mile to do this. Their data is 100% lien assessed, Columbia data.
With that as a preamble, I hope to provide some depth and dimension to this fine work. CA provides us with a very clear snapshot of Columbia. Here I will build on one single element and provide perspective and trend.
When announcing the CA demographic and socio-economic data, the CA Today Blog posted a chart titled “Figure 9. Automobile Ownership in Columbia.” This chart shows that 31.8% of households own one car, 44% own two cars, 19.5% own 3 (or more) cars, and 4.7% of Columbia households do not own any car at all. As I read that chart, I began to think, “Is that good?” “Has it always been that way.”
Peer Communities
My search to answer these questions started with two points. The first was to find other cities to compare to Columbia. I settled on the venerable Money Magazine “Best Places to Live” list. After rising to number two on this list, Columbia (and Ellicott City) fell to number eight during the last iteration. For review, here is the current list:
- Carmel, IN
- McKinney, TX
- Eden Prairie, MN
- Newton, MA
- Redmond, WA
- Irvine, CA
- Reston, VA
- Columbia/Ellicott City, MD
- Overland Park, KS
- Chapel Hill, NC
Utilizing the same database as CA used for Columbia, I generated a chart comparing each community:
In comparison, Columbia does respectably well with these other communities. Columbia is very much in the middle of the pack in each category. For those who desire the individual numbers, please reference the table below:
Historical Perspective
To be certain, driving patterns have changed over the last forty years. U.S. Census data for Columbia indicates the vehicles available in households were as follows:
Anecdotally, this data does reflect some of the reality in Columbia. At its founding, Columbia was marketed in the urban northeast section of the United States. For those moving south to Columbia, many had (read – needed) only one car. After putting down roots here, it became quickly apparent that many households would need more than one car to carry out daily household duties. Over time, affluence grew and more than a few households saw fit to provide wheels to their offspring.
In fact there exists a pretty close correlation between household size and number of cars owned. Find below the comparison of single person households and households reporting a single vehicle available:
With respect to two-person households and two-vehicle households, the similarity is even closer: