Columbus metropolitan area, Georgia

Columbus metropolitan area
Columbus metropolitan statistical area
Columbus–Auburn–Opelika, GA–AL combined statistical area
Skyline of Columbus, Georgia
Columbus–Auburn–Opelika, GA–AL CSA
Country United States
State Georgia
Alabama
Largest cityColumbus, GA
Other city
Area
  Total
2,786.1 sq mi (7,216 km2)
Population
 (2020)
  Total
328,883
  Density120/sq mi (46/km2)
GDP
  Total$25.294 billion (2022)
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
  Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Area code(s)706, 762, 334

The Columbus metropolitan area, officially the Columbus metropolitan statistical area, and colloquially known as the Chattahoochee Valley, is a metropolitan statistical area consisting of six counties in the U.S. state of Georgia and one county in Alabama, anchored by the city of Columbus.

At the 2020 U.S. census, the Columbus area had a population of 328,883; in 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the Columbus MSA's population to be 324,110.

The Columbus metropolitan area is a component of the Columbus-Auburn-Opelika (GA-AL) combined statistical area, a trading and marketing region. It is split between the eastern time zone, the time zone of the Georgia metropolitan counties, and central time zone, the time zone of Russell County, Alabama. The Columbus metropolitan area is one of two metropolitan areas split between multiple time zones, with the other being the Chattanooga metropolitan area in Tennessee.