In this paper, we present the result of investigations pertaining to the elastic buckling of simply supported columns with various cross-sectional dimensions but the same length and volume. In the investigations the accuracy of the analysis methods is studied and it was found that the result obtained by the successive approximations technique is the most accurate. In addition, the elastic buckling loads of columns with variable cross-section dimensions are obtained by the theoretical and numerical methods. From the results, it was found that the buckling loads obtained by the numerical methods are close to the buckling loads obtained by the successive approximations technique for the practical standpoints. Moreover, the buckling load of column with convexity in its middle is the highest while the buckling load of the tapered column is the lowest as expected.