Best PlacesOlentangy River Road, Columbus, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Olentangy River Road, 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.
Olentangy River Road, Columbus ranks 4,026th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Olentangy River Road, 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.
Olentangy River Road, Columbus' strengths and weaknesses
Where Olentangy River Road, Columbus ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
Where Olentangy River Road, Columbus ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Household income$49,740 median, better than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Olentangy River Road, Columbus
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Olentangy River Road, Columbus home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $49,740, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Olentangy River Road, Columbus' effective rate of 1.52%, 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 Olentangy River Road, Columbus
Olentangy River Road, Columbus runs younger than the country, 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 Olentangy River Road, Columbus.
Who works in Olentangy River Road, Columbus, and how
Work in Olentangy River Road, Columbus centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 24%
Life in Olentangy River Road, Columbus
Olentangy River Road, Columbus has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 95% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Olentangy River Road, Columbus and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Olentangy River Road, Columbus, month by month
Olentangy River Road, Columbus sees roughly 55 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 Olentangy River Road, Columbus
John Glenn Columbus International sits about 8 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 Olentangy River Road, Columbus
Schools across Olentangy River Road, Columbus average a C, better than 37% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Ecole Kenwood French ImmersionB · 48% proficient
- Cranbrook Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Columbus City Preparatory School For GirlsC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- 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 Olentangy River Road, Columbus school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Olentangy River Road, 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 Olentangy River Road, Columbus against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Olentangy River Road, Columbus
Is Olentangy River Road, Columbus a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Olentangy River Road, Columbus ranks 4,026th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a stable housing market, heat safety, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on the weather and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Olentangy River Road, Columbus expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $275,209. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $49,740 median income, cost of living beats 20% of neighborhoods.
Is Olentangy River Road, Columbus safe?
Olentangy River Road, Columbus is safer than 44% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $467 per resident a year.
Compare Olentangy River Road, Columbus with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Olentangy River Road, Columbus. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Olentangy River Road, 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.
Olentangy River Road, Columbus detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Olentangy River Road, Columbus: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Olentangy River Road, Columbus: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Olentangy River Road, Columbus: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Olentangy River Road, Columbus: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Olentangy River Road, 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.