The median asking rent across 12 Columbia zip codes is $1,549/month, down 1.9% from a year ago.
State capital, University of South Carolina, and Fort Jackson. Three stable demand drivers that don't correlate with each other. When one's slow, the others aren't. Affordable market with built-in diversification.
Median Asking Rent
$1,549
Rent Change (YoY)
-1.9%
Avg Days on Market
38
Active Rental Listings
1,526
Median List Price
$240,990
Average across 12 zip codes
ZIP | Median Rent |
|---|---|
| 29229 | $1,995/mo |
| 29223 | $1,725/mo |
| 29170 | $1,695/mo |
| 29209 | $1,695/mo |
| 29201 | $1,600/mo |
| 29212 | $1,599/mo |
| 29169 | $1,495/mo |
| 29205 | $1,475/mo |
| 29204 | $1,400/mo |
| 29206 | $1,299/mo |
| 29210 | $1,250/mo |
| 29203 | $1,150/mo |
Comps for any address in Columbia
Type the address, get the comps. No setup.
| Unit Size | Median Rent |
|---|---|
| Studio | $1,007/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,001/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,250/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,798/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,088/mo |
Aggregated median across all Columbia zip codes with available data.
| ZIP | Median List Price |
|---|---|
| 29206 | $400,000 |
| 29205 | $325,000 |
| 29201 | $300,000 |
| 29229 | $274,990 |
| 29212 | $262,000 |
| 29170 | $254,990 |
| 29209 | $240,990 |
| 29223 | $236,000 |
| 29169 | $229,290 |
| 29204 | $225,000 |
| 29203 | $200,000 |
| 29210 | $180,990 |
| 29208 | $15,000 |
| Unit Size | Fair Market Rent |
|---|---|
| Studio | $1,390/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,570/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,720/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,190/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,580/mo |
HUD publishes Fair Market Rents once a year for the Columbia metro area. Local housing authorities use them to set Section 8 voucher payment standards, usually 90% to 110% of the FMR.
The median asking rent across Columbia, SC sits at $1,549/month, pulled from active rental listings in 12 zip codes. That's down 1.9% from a year ago.
Rents aren't uniform across the city. ZIP 29229 tops the list at $1,995/month. ZIP 29203 comes in lowest at $1,150/month. That's a 73% spread between the top and bottom zip codes, which is wide. City-wide averages won't tell you much about a specific property here.
A 2-bedroom rents for $1,250/month at the median. 1-bedrooms run about $1,001. 3-bedrooms come in around $1,798.
Listings take longer here. The average is 38 days on market, which gives renters more room to negotiate and means landlords should price carefully.
Gross rent-to-value lands around 7.7% ($1,549/month rent on a $240,990 median price). Middle of the pack for cash-flow markets.
HUD's Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in the Columbia metro is $1,720/month. Asking rents come in about 10% below the federal benchmark, which can make Section 8 properties competitive here.
Columbia runs on three engines: state capital (government jobs), University of South Carolina (student renters and university employment), and Fort Jackson (the Army's largest basic training installation). That mix gives you multiple renter populations that don't move together. The Vista, Five Points, and Shandon are premium. West Columbia and the northeast side are cheaper. South Carolina stays landlord-friendly. Not glamorous, but demand is consistent and entry points are low. Quietly works for investors focused on steady cash flow over appreciation.
These numbers are city-wide averages. If you're pricing a specific property in Columbia, pull comps from the same zip code. The spread is usually bigger than people expect.
City-wide medians are the headline. The comps that actually price a property come from the block it's on. Search any Columbia address to see them.
12 zip codes
13 zip codes
20 zip codes
17 zip codes
22 zip codes
22 zip codes
What rental comps actually are, what makes one good or weak, and how to use them to price a rental without guessing.
What HUD's fair market rent actually means, how it ties into Section 8, and when it should change how you price a rental.
A step-by-step approach to pricing a rental so it fills fast and doesn't leave money on the table.