Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which had a 2011 estimated population of 301,439, according to the US Census. It joins with the Auburn, Alabama metropolitan area to form the Columbus, Georgia-Auburn, Alabama Combined Statistical Area, which had a 2011 estimated population of 466,089. It is the third largest city and fourth largest metropolitan area in the state, and also the 123rd largest city in the United States.