Rental market · Columbia, SC · Incorporated city
Columbia, SC: average rent, home values, and rental yield
South Atlantic · Population 138,019
How Columbia ranks nationally
Each bar places Columbia against all 1,863 ranked U.S. markets: the marker is this city and further right is more favorable to an investor; the tick marks the national median. Inverted measures (crime, vacancy, price-to-income) are already flipped so higher always means better here.
What a deal looks like here
A market-level buy-box for Columbia, built from this market's own numbers: the investor-entry price, its rent, and local carrying costs. An illustrative scenario, not a listing.
At 25% down and 7%, this representative scenario runs positive (about $293/mo cash flow) on the investor-entry price.
Buy target = Zillow Bottom-Tier ZHVI (5th–35th percentile) $141,819; typical home value $230,662. Rent = Zillow ZORI typical asking rent. Assumptions: 25% down, 7% / 30-yr, 5% vacancy, 8% management, 5% maintenance, 5% capex, 0.5% insurance, 0.66% property tax. Illustrative market-level scenario: not a listing, appraisal, recommendation, or underwriting decision. As of 2026-07-10.
Measured market data
Measured observations for Columbia, shown as context beside the market score (none of it feeds the score), and the model weights are unchanged. These are different measurements from the Census figures in the factor table: the ACS median value is what owners report in a 5-year survey, while ZHVI is a monthly index of typical value; ACS median gross rent is what sitting tenants pay including utilities, while ZORI indexes asking rent on newly listed units. Neither corrects the other. Monthly series, revised in recent months, observed 2026-07, not live.
| Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI, mid tier) | $230,662 |
|---|---|
| ZHVI bottom tier (5th–35th pct) | $141,819 |
| ZHVI top tier (65th–95th pct) | $370,367 |
| ZHVI, single-family only | $234,449 |
| Zillow asking-rent index (ZORI) | $1,478/mo |
| Measured gross yield (ZORI × 12 ÷ ZHVI) | 7.69% |
| Market heat index | 45 |
| Median days to pending | 21 |
| Share of listings with a price cut | 29.0% |
| Median sale-to-list ratio | 99.3% |
| For-sale inventory | 1,337 |
| New listings | 421 |
| Median list price | $249,967 |
| Median sale price | $244,850 |
| Measured 3-yr value growth | 2.25%/yr |
| Measured 5-yr value growth | 5.59%/yr |
| Measured 3-yr rent growth | 3.52%/yr |
| Price–rent divergence (value − rent growth) | -1.27%/yr |
| ZHVI, 1-bedroom | $131,119 |
| ZHVI, 2-bedroom | $153,512 |
| ZHVI, 3-bedroom | $220,900 |
| ZHVI, 4-bedroom | $309,540 |
| ZHVI, 5-bedroom | $430,644 |
Source: Zillow Economic Research public research data, observation month 2026-07. Zillow is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, Compounding Estates.
Price & rent history
Home value $101,408 → $230,662 (2000-01–2026-07) · Asking rent $809 → $1,478 (2015-01–2026-07)
Source: Zillow ZHVI (home value) and ZORI (asking rent) - monthly resolution for the last ~10 years (since 2016-08), quarterly before that. Home value uses the left axis, rent the right; toggle either series, change the range, hover to read any point. Gaps in the source series are left as gaps - never interpolated.
ZIP markets in Columbia
17 Census ZIP Codes (ZCTAs) officially overlap Columbia by land area · 13 data-eligible for subscores. Overlap is Census land-area share, not a population or address share. Each ZIP Code's overall Rental Investor ZIP Score, grade and canonical national rank are shown below (the two component signals, affordability and rental market, are separate percentiles). There is no city-scoped ZIP rank: city overlap isn't a ranking universe, so only the national rank is shown. These ZIP rankings sit in the ZIP universe only, never mixed with, and not directly comparable to, Columbia's city ranking. Vintage: the Key metric column below is Census ACS 2020–2024 (5-year), a full survey release newer than the ACS 2019–2023 figures used above for Columbia itself, so the same measure can legitimately show a different number at the city and ZIP level.
| ZIP Code | Overallgrade · natl rank | Tier · overlap | Affordabilitysignal · natl rank | Rental marketsignal · natl rank | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29205Columbia | C 52#7,351 nat | RankedPrimary | 45#11,715 of 20,132 · bottom 42% | 60#5,475 of 20,132 · top 27% | 3.8%Survey yield |
| 29207Columbia | — | LimitedPrimary | — | — | — |
| 29208Columbia | — | LimitedPrimary | — | — | — |
| 29225Columbia | — | LimitedPrimary | — | — | — |
| 29229Columbia | A 65#1,618 nat | RankedPrimary | 77#1,652 of 20,132 · top 8% | 54#7,849 of 20,132 · top 39% | 8.0%Survey yield |
| 29203Columbia | A 68#972 nat | RankedPrimary | 88#468 of 20,132 · top 2% | 62#4,609 of 20,132 · top 23% | 9.4%Survey yield |
| 29044Columbia | — | ProfilePrimary | — | — | 8.7%Survey yield |
| 29204Columbia | B 58#4,197 nat | RankedPrimary | 74#2,188 of 20,132 · top 11% | 65#3,398 of 20,132 · top 17% | 6.2%Survey yield |
| 29045Columbia | B 63#2,195 nat | RankedPrimary | 73#2,382 of 20,132 · top 12% | 14#19,175 of 20,132 · bottom 5% | 6.0%Survey yield |
| 29209Columbia | A 66#1,427 nat | RankedPrimary | 79#1,457 of 20,132 · top 7% | 69#2,233 of 20,132 · top 11% | 7.7%Survey yield |
| 29201Columbia | B 56#5,373 nat | RankedPrimary | 68#3,483 of 20,132 · top 17% | 55#7,378 of 20,132 · top 37% | 5.5%Survey yield |
| 29212Columbia | A 67#1,154 nat | RankedPrimary | 84#836 of 20,132 · top 4% | 58#6,330 of 20,132 · top 31% | 7.0%Survey yield |
The honest read
Columbia scores 65/100 overall (grade A): 82 for Cash Flow, 61 for Growth, and 54 for Stability, each a 0–100 score built from the factors in that category. The scenario above shows what a representative investor-entry purchase pencils out to at today's rates. Everything we can measure is in the table below, with its source.
Every factor, shown
The Overall score blends three category scores built from thirteen measured factors: Cash Flow (35%), Growth (35%), and Stability (30%). The table shows every factor; the tag on each percentile marks which category a scored factor feeds. Untagged factors are shown for context but not scored. Every value carries its source and as-of date. How the score works.
| Factor | Value | National percentile | Source · as-of | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expense-adjusted yield | 4.9% | 91st percentile · Cash Flow | Zillow ZORI/ZHVI · 2026-07-31 | Annual rent divided by price, net of a modeled vacancy, tax, capex, and management allowance: the core of the Cash Flow category and what the score is actually computed from. The unadjusted gross yield is shown elsewhere on this page. |
| Price to income | 4.1x | 66th percentile · Cash Flow | Zillow + ACS income · 2026-07-31 | Home price over local median income. Lower is cheaper relative to what people earn. Part of the Cash Flow category. |
| Population growth | 1.2%/yr (observed 1.2%/yr, capped for scoring) | 74th percentile · Growth | Census PEP · Census PEP 2020→2024 (vintage 2024) + Census PEP 2014→2024 (vintages 2019+2024) | Census population trend for the place, capped at 4.5%/yr before scoring (diminishing returns above that rate): the heaviest factor in the Growth category. |
| Job growth | 1.1%/yr | 59th percentile · Growth | BLS LAUS (county) · BLS LAUS county annual 2019→2023 (pre-COVID anchor) + BLS LAUS county annual 2013→2023 | County employment trend, capped at 4.0%/yr before scoring (diminishing returns above that rate). A Growth-category factor. |
| Income growth | 4.2%/yr | 21st percentile · Growth | Census ACS · ACS 5-yr 2019-2023 | Local median-income trend. A Growth-category factor. |
| Rent growth | 4.9%/yr | 77th percentile · Growth | Zillow ZORI · 3yr + 10yr to 2026-07-31 | A 40/60 blend of 3-year and 10-year rent trend (the model's own weighting). A Growth-category factor. |
| Home-value growth | 4.8%/yr | 55th percentile · Growth | Zillow ZHVI · 3yr + 10yr to 2026-07-31 | A 40/60 blend of 3-year and 10-year price trend (the model's own weighting). A small Growth-category factor. |
| Unemployment | 3.0% | 73rd percentile · Stability | BLS LAUS (county) · BLS LAUS county annual 2023 | County unemployment rate. Lower is steadier, a Stability-category factor. |
| Rental vacancy | 6.4% | 27th percentile · Stability | Census ACS B25004 · ACS 5-yr 2019-2023 | Share of rentals empty. Lower means more pricing power. A Stability-category factor. |
| Property tax rate | 0.7% | 81st percentile · Stability | Census ACS B25103/B25077 · ACS 5-yr 2019-2023 | Median tax over median value. A direct drag on cash flow, scored in the Stability category as carrying-cost burden. |
| Months of supply | not measured | - | derived | Listings over sales pace. Under about 4 is a seller market, over 6 a buyer market. A Stability-category factor. |
| Days on market | not measured | - | derived | How fast homes sell. Lower means more liquidity and an easier exit. Shown for context, not scored. |
| Sale-to-list ratio | not measured | - | derived | Sale price over asking. Above 100% means homes clear over ask. Shown for context, not scored. |
| Net domestic migration | +5.5/1k | 80th percentile | Census PEP (county) · PEP vintage 2024 | Net people moving in or out of the county, per 1,000 residents. Shown for context, not scored. |
| Building permits | 44.3/1k | 9th percentile | Census BPS (county) · BPS 2023 | New-construction permits per 1,000 homes. More means more supply coming. Shown for context, not scored. |
| Rent burden | 35% | 16th percentile | Census ACS B25071 · ACS 5-yr 2019-2023 | Median rent as a share of income. Higher means less headroom for increases. Shown for context, not scored. |
| Median year built | 1978 | 46th percentile | Census ACS B25035 · ACS 5-yr 2019-2023 | Age of the housing stock. Older stock carries more capex. Shown for context, not scored. |
| Max drawdown | 16% | 68th percentile | Zillow ZHVI · 2026-07-31 | Worst peak-to-trough home-value decline on record. Shown for context, not scored. |
| Violent crime | not reported | - | FBI CDE | No agency reported this place to the FBI. We never impute a crime number; where it is missing, the Stability category renormalizes over its remaining factors. |
- † Job growth and unemployment are county-level (BLS LAUS, county FIPS 45079); large multi-county cities inherit their dominant county’s figures.
Related cities
Nearby in the South Carolina rankings · all South Carolina cities
Similar overall grade, elsewhere in the country
Compare Columbia head-to-head
Side by side, the three category scores plus every measured column with sources - the same shown math as this page.
Underwrite a Columbia deal
For learning, not advice. A market screen from public data - not a forecast, not underwriting, not a recommendation to buy anywhere.