diff --git a/webui/react/src/components/Searches/Searches.settings.ts b/webui/react/src/components/Searches/Searches.settings.ts
index 46e86cfab97..db0f578637e 100644
--- a/webui/react/src/components/Searches/Searches.settings.ts
+++ b/webui/react/src/components/Searches/Searches.settings.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import * as t from 'io-ts';
+import { pick } from 'lodash';
 
 import { INIT_FORMSET } from 'components/FilterForm/components/FilterFormStore';
 import { RegularSelectionType, SelectionType } from 'types';
@@ -10,24 +11,26 @@ export const DEFAULT_SELECTION: t.TypeOf<typeof RegularSelectionType> = {
   type: 'ONLY_IN',
 };
 
-// have to intersect with an empty object bc of settings store type issue
-export const ProjectSettings = t.intersection([
-  t.type({}),
-  t.partial({
-    columns: t.array(t.string),
-    columnWidths: t.record(t.string, t.number),
-    compare: t.boolean,
-    filterset: t.string, // save FilterFormSet as string
-    heatmapOn: t.boolean,
-    heatmapSkipped: t.array(t.string),
-    pageLimit: t.number,
-    pinnedColumnsCount: t.number,
-    selection: SelectionType,
-    sortString: t.string,
-  }),
-]);
+export const ProjectSettings = t.partial({
+  columns: t.array(t.string),
+  columnWidths: t.record(t.string, t.number),
+  compare: t.boolean,
+  filterset: t.string, // save FilterFormSet as string
+  heatmapOn: t.boolean,
+  heatmapSkipped: t.array(t.string),
+  pageLimit: t.number,
+  pinnedColumnsCount: t.number,
+  selection: SelectionType,
+  sortString: t.string,
+});
 export type ProjectSettings = t.TypeOf<typeof ProjectSettings>;
 
+/**
+ * Slice of ProjectSettings that concerns column widths -- this is extracted to
+ * allow updates to it to be debounced.
+ */
+export const ColumnWidthsSlice = t.exact(t.partial(pick(ProjectSettings.props, ['columnWidths'])));
+
 export const ProjectUrlSettings = t.partial({
   compare: t.boolean,
   page: t.number,
diff --git a/webui/react/src/components/Searches/Searches.tsx b/webui/react/src/components/Searches/Searches.tsx
index 32b27f96c8f..03eb57c7cee 100644
--- a/webui/react/src/components/Searches/Searches.tsx
+++ b/webui/react/src/components/Searches/Searches.tsx
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
   defaultNumberColumn,
   defaultSelectionColumn,
   defaultTextColumn,
+  MIN_COLUMN_WIDTH,
   MULTISELECT,
 } from 'hew/DataGrid/columns';
 import DataGrid, {
@@ -51,6 +52,7 @@ import { DataGridGlobalSettings, settingsConfigGlobal } from 'components/Options
 import TableActionBar from 'components/TableActionBar';
 import useUI from 'components/ThemeProvider';
 import { useAsync } from 'hooks/useAsync';
+import { useDebouncedSettings } from 'hooks/useDebouncedSettings';
 import { useGlasbey } from 'hooks/useGlasbey';
 import useMobile from 'hooks/useMobile';
 import usePolling from 'hooks/usePolling';
@@ -83,6 +85,7 @@ import { pluralizer } from 'utils/string';
 import { getColumnDefs, searcherMetricsValColumn } from './columns';
 import css from './Searches.module.scss';
 import {
+  ColumnWidthsSlice,
   DEFAULT_SELECTION,
   defaultProjectSettings,
   ProjectSettings,
@@ -145,12 +148,13 @@ const Searches: React.FC<Props> = ({ project }) => {
     (p: Partial<ProjectSettings>) => userSettings.setPartial(ProjectSettings, settingsPath, p),
     [settingsPath],
   );
+  const [columnWidths, setColumnWidths] = useDebouncedSettings(ColumnWidthsSlice, settingsPath);
   const settings = useMemo(
     () =>
-      projectSettings
-        .map((s) => ({ ...defaultProjectSettings, ...s }))
+      Loadable.all([projectSettings, columnWidths])
+        .map(([s, cw]) => ({ ...defaultProjectSettings, ...s, ...cw }))
         .getOrElse(defaultProjectSettings),
-    [projectSettings],
+    [projectSettings, columnWidths],
   );
 
   const { params, updateParams } = useTypedParams(ProjectUrlSettings, {});
@@ -540,16 +544,18 @@ const Searches: React.FC<Props> = ({ project }) => {
           acc[col] = DEFAULT_COLUMN_WIDTH;
           return acc;
         }, {});
-      updateSettings({
-        columns: newColumnsOrder,
+      setColumnWidths({
         columnWidths: {
           ...settings.columnWidths,
           ...newColumnWidths,
         },
+      });
+      updateSettings({
+        columns: newColumnsOrder,
         pinnedColumnsCount: isUndefined(pinnedCount) ? settings.pinnedColumnsCount : pinnedCount,
       });
     },
-    [updateSettings, settings.pinnedColumnsCount, settings.columnWidths],
+    [setColumnWidths, updateSettings, settings.pinnedColumnsCount, settings.columnWidths],
   );
 
   const handleRowHeightChange = useCallback(
@@ -586,14 +592,14 @@ const Searches: React.FC<Props> = ({ project }) => {
 
   const handleColumnWidthChange = useCallback(
     (columnId: string, width: number) => {
-      updateSettings({
+      setColumnWidths({
         columnWidths: {
           ...settings.columnWidths,
-          [columnId]: width,
+          [columnId]: Math.max(MIN_COLUMN_WIDTH, width),
         },
       });
     },
-    [updateSettings, settings.columnWidths],
+    [setColumnWidths, settings.columnWidths],
   );
 
   const columnsIfLoaded = useMemo(