Parks, trails, trash, needles
COLUMBIA, 2/4/25 (Beat Byte) -- "Moving to Columbia, Mo? See our poll results," Area Vibes announces on Google, Bing, and other search engines about its latest look at city "livability". A leader in quality of life comparisons across US and Canadian cities, Area Vibes' Columbia study supports both sides of a heated argument but with a caveat: crime overshadows everything.
Local politicians and government managers insist Columbia's parks and trails, low commute times, reasonable cost of living, and good schools are the best measures of their leadership. But a growing number of Columbia residents argue that rising crime and rampant homelessness are squashing the city's best qualities.
A real estate consulting firm based in Toronto, Ontario, Area Vibes studies the Big Kahuna of home buying, renting, and selling: location, location, location. Computers analyze dozens of sources and statistics to "grade" nine factors, including crime, cost of living, healthcare, and housing. Local residents rate the same factors and a "unique algorithm" combines it all into a "livability" score.Earning A+ (A plus) scores for parks, trails, traffic, hospitals, and housing, Columbia earned an Area Vibes "livability" score of 82 out of 100 points, a solid B that ranks #8 among Missouri cities. Pulling those A pluses down: public schools and cost of living both earned a B plus. Mediocre employment opportunities earned a C plus.
And crime earned Columbia a D minus.
Per FBI data from September 2023, Columbia exceeded national numbers on virtually every criminal offense. Murder, rape, assault, violent crime, and property crime were nearly double national figures per 100,000 population. Total crimes reported were 70% higher than the national number, 3,946 to 2,324. The city's eleven murders that year were 80% higher than the national average of six.
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Crime rates per 100 residents fared as poorly. "The Columbia crime rate is 33% higher than the national average," Area Vibes' study explains. "These incidents are classified into two categories: violent and property crimes. Violent crimes include assault, robbery, rape and murder. Property crimes encompass theft and burglary."Columbia's violent crime rate is 27.5% higher than the US average, while the property crime rate is 33.8% higher."
Comparing crime rates to previous years, total crime in Columbia increased by about 5% between 2021-22. Violent crime decreased by 3%, and property crime increased by 6% (six percent).
Area Vibes' survey reinforced the FBI data. Of ninety (90) Columbia residents, 32% or 29 people said there was "very little crime" and they "felt very comfortable walking alone at night."
But 68% or 61 Columbia residents said there was "far too much crime and they would be hesitant to walk the streets alone at night."
"The economic well-being of a city's residents plays a significant role in crime rates," the Area Vibes Columbia study concludes. Excluding students at area colleges, "the poverty level in Columbia is 20.2%, while the national average is 15.1%."