Best PlacesNorth Central, Columbus, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Central, Columbus, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
North Central, Columbus ranks 5,090th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. A weak job market pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on low disaster risk.
The best neighborhoods in North Central, Columbus
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.
North Central, Columbus' strengths and weaknesses
Where North Central, Columbus ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- Short commute21.5 minutes each way, better than 70% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 65% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 58% of neighborhoods
Where North Central, Columbus ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Household income$54,086 median, better than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in North Central, Columbus
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Central, Columbus home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,086, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 North Central, Columbus' effective rate of 0.96%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in North Central, Columbus
North Central, Columbus runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Central, Columbus.
Who works in North Central, Columbus, and how
Work in North Central, Columbus centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in North Central, Columbus
North Central, Columbus has more parkland per resident than 90% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of North Central, Columbus and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Central, Columbus, month by month
North Central, Columbus 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 North Central, Columbus
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 North Central, Columbus
Schools across North Central, Columbus average a C, better than 37% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Ecole Kenwood French ImmersionB · 48% proficient
- South Mifflin Stem Academy (k-6)D+ · 22% proficient
- Eastgate Elementary SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Columbus City Preparatory School For GirlsC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Charles School At Ohio Dominican UniversityD+ · 24% 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 North Central, Columbus school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Central, Columbus 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 North Central, Columbus against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in North Central, Columbus
Is North Central, Columbus a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Central, Columbus ranks 5,090th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low disaster risk, cheap car insurance, and short commutes, and lowest on a weak job market and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Central, Columbus expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $132,814. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $54,086 median income, cost of living beats 28% of neighborhoods.
Is North Central, Columbus safe?
North Central, Columbus is safer than 29% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $558 per resident a year.
Compare North Central, Columbus with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Central, Columbus. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Central, Columbus 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.
North Central, Columbus detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Central, Columbus: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Central, Columbus: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Central, Columbus: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Central, Columbus: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Central, Columbus 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.