Best PlacesNorthland, Columbus, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Northland, Columbus, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Northland, Columbus ranks 2,692nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on cheap car insurance and low disaster risk. The weaker spots are the weather, property taxes, and health outcomes.
The best neighborhoods in Northland, 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.
Northland, Columbus' strengths and weaknesses
Northland, Columbus lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Cheap car insurance, low disaster risk, and heat safety carry most of that.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. The weather, property taxes, and health outcomes hold the score down. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where Northland, Columbus ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 78% of neighborhoods
- Short commute21.6 minutes each way, better than 70% of neighborhoods
- School gradeB−, better than 69% of neighborhoods
Where Northland, Columbus ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 32% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 32% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 36% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Northland, Columbus
A household needs to earn about $75,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Northland, Columbus home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,504, 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 Northland, Columbus' effective rate of 1.41%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Northland, Columbus
Northland, Columbus runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Northland, Columbus.
Who works in Northland, Columbus, and how
Work in Northland, Columbus centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Northland, Columbus
Northland, Columbus has more parkland per resident than 83% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Northland, Columbus and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Northland, Columbus, month by month
Northland, Columbus sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 31° | 22° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 70° | 57° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Northland, Columbus
John Glenn Columbus International sits about 6 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 Northland, Columbus
Schools across Northland, Columbus average a B−, better than 69% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Emerson Elementary SchoolA+ · 89% proficient
- Alcott Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- New Albany Primary SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
Top middle schools
- Phoenix Middle SchoolA+ · 87% proficient
- New Albany Intermediate SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- New Albany Middle SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
Top high schools
- New Albany High SchoolA · 78% proficient
- Worthington Kilbourne High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Lincoln High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Northland, Columbus school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Northland, 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 Northland, Columbus against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Northland, Columbus suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Northland, Columbus
Is Northland, Columbus a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Northland, Columbus ranks 2,692nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low disaster risk, and heat safety, 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 Northland, Columbus expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $265,610. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $76,504 median income, cost of living beats 63% of neighborhoods.
Is Northland, Columbus safe?
Yes, Northland, Columbus is safer than 66% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $347 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Northland, Columbus?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 22. That works out to about 58 pleasant days a year, more than 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Northland, Columbus good for families?
Schools beat 69% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 66%, and childcare runs $1,273 a month.
Is Northland, Columbus good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 63% of neighborhoods, though advertised internet speeds beat only 43% of neighborhoods. About 18% of workers already work from home.
Compare Northland, Columbus with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Northland, Columbus. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Northland, 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.
Northland, Columbus detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Northland, Columbus: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Northland, Columbus: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Northland, Columbus: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Northland, Columbus: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Northland, 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.