Columbus, NE Micro Area

The Columbus, NE micro area is made up of 2 counties in Nebraska: Platte and Colfax. About 46,583 people lived there on July 1, 2025 (Census estimate), 3.8% more than in April 2020.

Colfax County, outlyingPlatte County, centralColumbus
Central Outlying 2 counties in Nebraska
Population, July 2025
46,583 3.8% more than in April 2020
Type
Micropolitan statistical area
Counties
2: 1 central, 1 outlying
Land area
1,087 sq mi (2,814 km²)
Time zone
Central TimeUTC-06:00 in January; UTC-05:00 in July
State
Nebraska
CBSA code
18100

Counties in the Columbus, NE micro area, largest first

CountyRolePopulation, July 2025Share of the area
Platte CountyCentral35,64976.5%
Colfax CountyOutlying10,93423.5%

A central county holds the area’s core, an urban area of 10,000 to 49,999 people. An outlying county is in the area because of commuting: at least a quarter of its workers have jobs in the central county, or at least a quarter of the people working there live in them. A county belongs to one metro or micro area at most, and it counts whole, countryside included.

Principal city

  1. Columbus24,488 people

OMB names the area after its largest principal cities. A principal city is the area’s largest city, plus any other city that is very large or a big job center, and smaller ones with at least as many jobs as working residents (2020 Census and commuting figures). People counts are American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates.

Bordering metro and micro areas, nearest first

Areas with a county on this area’s edge. Distances are straight lines between the areas’ largest cities.

  1. Norfolk, NE Micro Area41 mi north
  2. Fremont, NE Micro Area45 mi east
  3. Grand Island, NE Metro Area63 mi southwest

Before using this answer on a form

A metro or micro area is a statistical area that OMB draws for federal statistics. It is not a city, a local government or a mailing address, and it is not a measure of urban and rural: whole counties count, rural parts included. Programs that use metro areas, such as housing income limits or wage rates, can use their own version of these lists; check the program’s own list for an address.

Find the metro area where you are now, find your county, or see every metro and micro area by population.

See this area on Census.gov ↗