$174,999
3 bd|1.5 ba|1,051 sqft
292 S 5th St, Columbia, PA 17512
Listed by Corner House Realty
Lancaster County
Columbia Borough School District
30.4
Academic Index · #109 of 112
Academic outcomes (2024-25)
% proficient or advanced, official PDE district files. Black tick = state average.
PSSA English (gr. 3-8)22.5%PA 48.5%
PSSA Math (gr. 3-8)14.5%PA 41.7%
Keystone Algebra I12.8%PA 44.3%
Keystone Literature27.2%PA 62.1%
Keystone Biology13.8%PA 49.4%
4-year graduation rate (cohort of 91)79.1%PA 89.1%
A small graduating class: each student moves the rate by about 1.1 points, so read year-to-year swings loosely.
The true tax picture
- School millage (2025-26)
- 25.66 mills
- Effective school tax (of market value)
- 1.28%/yr
- Typical total (county + muni + school)
- 1.94%/yr
- On a $450,000 purchase
- ≈ $8,744/yr
- Median sale, 12 mo (148 sales)
- $223,450
Rates assume an assessment at Lancaster County's current Common Level Ratio (50.00%). PA does not reassess on sale. Exact math for any price: the calculator.
Family & student support
Beyond test scores: official, public measures of student support and community context that families ask about. District- and county-level only; never a rating of an individual school, student, or home.
Support & services
U.S. Dept. of Education / NCES, 2021-22. Gray figures are the PA average.
- Special-education enrollment
- 29.8%PA avg 20.3%
- Students per teacher
- 13:1PA avg 13.9:1
- Students per school counselor
- 318:1PA avg 352:1 · recommended 250:1
- Students per school psychologist
- 635:1PA avg 1,165:1 · recommended 500:1
Special-education enrollment is the share of students receiving IEP or related services: the support a district provides, not a drawback. Counselor and psychologist ratios compare against ASCA (250:1) and NASP (500:1) recommendations.
Lancaster County: overdose context
Pennsylvania Department of Health. County-level, not specific to any school or district.
51drug-overdose deaths in 2024
20122024
Down from 84 the prior year and a peak of 169 in 2017. Recent years are provisional.
School climate & safety
70.5%regular attendance
Share of students present at least 90% of enrolled days, vs. 79.6% statewide. Enrollment-weighted across the district's schools. Pennsylvania Future Ready PA Index, 2024-25.
U.S. Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights — Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), 2021-22. Incidents per 1,000 enrolled students; one student can account for several incidents, so this is not the share of students involved. Figures are privacy-adjusted at the school level; small district counts are shown as “fewer than 10.”
- Bullying & harassment allegations
- Fewer than 10
- Out-of-school suspensions
- 94.5 / 1,000
- Referrals to law enforcement
- Fewer than 10
- School-related arrests
- 0 reported
- Restraint or seclusion
- 7.9 / 1,000
Bullying counts are incidents a district formally reported under federal civil-rights categories, a widely underreported measure. A low number (including zero) often reflects reporting practices more than the absence of bullying.
These figures describe districts and counties, not individual schools, students, or homes. They are official public data and may be self-reported, lag by a year or more, or be underreported. They are context for families, not a safety rating. Sources: U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data (2021-22); Pennsylvania Department of Health; Pennsylvania Future Ready PA Index (2024-25); U.S. Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights — Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) (2021-22).
Schools in Columbia Borough
4 public schools. Open any for grades, enrollment, and attendance.
Elementary schools
High schools
Tax bill by municipality
| Municipality | Muni millage | Total millage | Effective rate | Tax on $450,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Borough | 10 mills | 38.86 mills | 1.94% | ≈ $8,744/yr |
Browse homes in Columbia Borough
Homes for sale in Columbia Borough
Active listings across the district's towns. Every home here feeds the same schools.
$242,500
3 bd|2 ba|2,382 sqft
325 Cherry St, Columbia, PA 17512
Listed by Keller Williams Elite
$130,000
4 bd|2 ba|1,943 sqft
638 S 13th St, Columbia, PA 17512
Listed by Keller Williams Elite
$395,000
4 bd|2.5 ba|2,769 sqft
535 S 9th St, Columbia, PA 17512
Listed by Coldwell Banker Realty
$139,000
3 bd|1 ba|1,328 sqft
523 N 2nd St, Columbia, PA 17512
Listed by Prime Home Real Estate, LLC
$249,000
4 bd|2.5 ba|1,352 sqft
1061 Grinnell Ave, Columbia, PA 17512
Listed by Coldwell Banker Realty
$335,000
4 bd|2 ba|1,653 sqft
821 Ridge Ave, Columbia, PA 17512
Listed by CENTURY 21 Home Advisors
$205,000
2 bd|1 ba|1,200 sqft
516 Union St, Columbia, PA 17512
Listed by Coldwell Banker Realty
$625,000
6 bd|6 ba|3,892 sqft
140 N 3rd St, Columbia, PA 17512
Listed by Keller Williams Elite
$240,000
4 bd|3 ba|1,500 sqft
121 Perry St, Columbia, PA 17512
Listed by Realty ONE Group Unlimited
$284,500
Price cut: $25,400 (Aug 16)
2 bd|1.5 ba|1,736 sqft
635 S 12th St, Columbia, PA 17512
Listed by Howard Hanna Real Estate Services - Lancaster
$214,900
2 bd|1 ba|864 sqft
331 Maple St, Columbia, PA 17512
Listed by Life Changes Realty Group
Common questions
Is Columbia Borough a good school district?
Columbia Borough scores 30.4 of 100 on the NookLocal Academic Index, #109 of 112 districts serving Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Berks, Lancaster, and the Lehigh Valley. Components (official 2025 PDE data): PSSA proficiency 19% (state ~45%), Keystone proficiency 18%, graduation rate 79.1% (state 89.1%). The index measures outcomes, not school effectiveness in isolation.
What are property taxes in Columbia Borough School District?
The district levies 25.66 mills (2025-26) on Lancaster County's assessment base, an effective school tax of about 1.28% of market value at the current Common Level Ratio. With county and typical municipal millage, the total runs about 1.94%, roughly $8,744 per year on a $450,000 purchase. Exact bills vary by municipality (1.94%–1.94% across 1) and by the home's actual assessment.
What towns are in Columbia Borough School District?
NookLocal-covered towns served by Columbia Borough: Columbia Borough. The taxing municipalities are Columbia Borough. A specific home's district is shown on every NookLocal listing.
Columbia Borough vs. Lancaster: how do they compare?
Academically: Columbia Borough 30.4 vs. Lancaster 38.3 on the Academic Index. On taxes: 1.94% vs. 1.80% of home value per year, about $8,744 vs. $8,090 on a $450,000 purchase. Full comparison on the school district value matrix.
What is the attendance rate in Columbia Borough School District?
70.5% of Columbia Borough students are regularly present (enrolled and attending at least 90% of school days) versus 79.6% statewide (Future Ready PA Index, 2024-25).
Does Columbia Borough support students with IEPs and special needs?
29.8% of students receive special-education services (Pennsylvania average 20.3%), with about 318 students per school counselor and 635 per school psychologist. The Family & student support section above has the full breakdown.
Is Columbia Borough a safe school district?
Rather than a single safety score, NookLocal shows official district figures. Regular attendance is 70.5% (state 79.6%). For 2021-22, the federal Civil Rights Data Collection reports about 94.5 out-of-school suspensions and 0.8 law-enforcement referrals per 1,000 students. These figures describe the district, not individual schools, and reported bullying is widely undercounted. See the Family & student support section.
Free Newsletter
The NookLocal Digest
We work hard to only send quality information in our newsletter. Sign up!
Unsubscribe any time. See our Privacy Policy.
Academic data: PA Department of Education district-level files (2024-25). Tax data: county assessment offices and STEB. Estimates only. Verify with the district and county before transacting. Full methodology on the value matrix.
Why NookLocal
Moving to or within the Greater Philadelphia area? You found the right place.
NookLocal has the same homes you'll find on Zillow, Trulia, or Realtor.com, plus the local context they leave out: school district rankings, the full property-tax bill at today's rates, and sourced safety data.
Most popular
Matchmaking service
A 1-on-1 needs analysis with our co-founder Carmen, then a local agent or lender picked for you. Partners who underdeliver stop getting referrals. If you work with a partner we introduce, NookLocal may earn a referral fee from their broker.
Get MatchedSearch by school district
Most families pick the district before the house. We score every district on academics against its tax cost, so you can find the best value, then search every home inside the boundary.
Search by districtThe full property-tax bill
Pennsylvania taxes swing hard from town to town. We show each town's millage, the Common Level Ratio, and a calculator, so you know the yearly bill before you make an offer.
Try the calculatorLocal crime and safety data
The big portals dropped their crime maps years ago. We publish sourced county figures from public FBI and Pennsylvania data, with their limits named.
See the dataSchool data with real depth
Not a single 1 to 10 score. Explore 450+ individual school pages and a district value report that scores academics against what each town costs.
See the rankingsBuilt for eastern Pennsylvania
We cover nine Pennsylvania counties: Greater Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley, Berks, and Lancaster, built by people who live here.
Explore the areas