Best Places43209, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 43209, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
43209 ranks 2,492nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 43209
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
43209's strengths and weaknesses
Where 43209 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 92% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 43209 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,273 a month, better than only 17% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 43209
A household needs to earn about $127,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 43209 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $113,563; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 43209's effective rate of 1.40%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 43209
43209's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 43209.
Who works in 43209, and how
Work in 43209 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 43209
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 43209.
What the weather is like in 43209, month by month
43209 sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 31° | 23° |
| April | 67° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 43209
John Glenn Columbus International sits about 3 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.4 million passengers in 2025, with 94 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 43209
Schools across 43209 average a B, better than 81% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Montrose Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Maryland Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Cassingham Elementary SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bexley Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Columbus City Preparatory School For GirlsC− · 30% proficient
- Columbus Africentric Early College Middle SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- Bexley High SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Columbus Africentric Early College High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Columbus North International School (7-12)D · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 43209 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
43209 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 43209 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 43209 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 22% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 43209
Is 43209 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 43209 ranks 2,492nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, an educated workforce, and low disaster risk, and lowest on the weather and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 43209 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $449,874. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $113,563 median income, cost of living beats 94% of zip codes.
Is 43209 safe?
43209 is safer than 19% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $433 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 43209?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 23. That works out to about 58 pleasant days a year, more than 5% of zip codes.
Is 43209 good for families?
Schools beat 81% of zip codes, crime safety beats 19%, and childcare runs $1,273 a month.
Compare 43209 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 43209. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 43209 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
43209 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 43209: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 43209: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 43209: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 43209: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
43209 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.