2020 census As of the
2020 United States census, there were 610 people, 338 households, and 197 families residing in the town.
2000 census As of the
census of 2000, there were 819 people, 341 households, and 221 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 411 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 39.19%
White, 52.26%
African American, 0.12%
Native American, 1.47%
Asian, 5.13% from
other races, and 1.83% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 7.33% of the population. There were 341 households, out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.8% were married couples living together, 28.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.93. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $20,588, and the median income for a family was $21,563. Males had a median income of $19,821 versus $17,361 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $12,216. About 27.9% of families and 33.7% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 53.6% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over. Due to Columbia's proximity to the Outer Banks, land and property value have increased dramatically since 2000 and with that the local demographics have also changed. . ==Notable persons==