Columbus, in south-central Indiana, is a city of about fifty thousand people with more than sixty buildings and public spaces of international design distinction, with work by architects such as Eero Saarinen and I. M. Pei. Columbus hosts the Prove It Summit and the first visit of the Learning Partnership.

County: Bartholomew

READI region: South Central

Region's READI awards: $30 million in READI 1.0 (2021); $30 million in READI 2.0 (2024)

Population: 50,474 in the 2020 Census, up 14.6 percent since 2010; estimated 52,655 in 2025

Residents 65 and over: 16.0%

Per capita income: $43,783

Adults 25 and over with a bachelor's degree or higher: 40.0%

Owner-occupied homes: 60.8%