Columbus, Mississippi, is the closest major city to Columbus AFB. It has about 26,000 people, and is in Lowndes County, which has a population of about 60,000 people. Other nearby small communities in the county include Artesia, Caledonia; out of county nearby communities include Aberdeen and West Point.

It is about 11 miles from downtown Columbus to Columbus AFB; this takes about 20 minutes to commute, but travel times can vary significantly. The average commute in Lowndes County is about 20 minutes.

Major local employers are the base itself, Baptist Memorial Hospital, Weyerhaeuser, Severstal North America (steel manufacturer), Paccar Inc., American Eurocopter, Omnova Solutions, Aurora Flight Sciences, Stark Aerospace (not that Stark - no armored suits) and Metso Paper.

Local Housing Rental Prices: The average apartment rent in the Columbus area ranges from $524 to $700 per month, with an average around $590 per month.

Local Housing Purchase Prices: The average price for a house in the Columbus and Lowndes area is about $96,000, compared to $98,000 for Mississippi.

Short Description of the Area: The Columbus metropolitan area is a small community in eastern Mississippi, near the Alabama state line, with a population 60-80,000. The area is generally rural, with large areas of forested land and considerable lake, river, and wetland territory.

Climate and Weather: The area has a humid, subtropical climate, winter temperatures from the mid-50s to mid-30s and summer temperatures in the mid 90s to low 70s, with generally high humidity. Summers are long, and generally bright, have regular rain and thunderstorms, occasional tornadoes, and rare hurricanes from the Gulf, but is far enough inland that this is very unusual. Winters are fairly short and mild, with regular rain and, rarely, snow.