Best PlacesSouth Linden, Columbus, OH Best Neighborhoods

2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026

Every neighborhood in and around South Linden, 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.

See the map of best neighborhoods

South Linden, Columbus ranks 5,587th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. Health outcomes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on low disaster risk.

#5,587
of 5,983 neighborhoods
BestNeighborhood rank
Defaults weight crime safety, affordability, schools, and weather highest: the things hardest to change after a move
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of 5,983 neighborhoods
Your rank
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The best neighborhoods in South Linden, Columbus

Map of the best neighborhoods in the South Linden, Columbus area, with better matches in green and worse matches in red
Click the map to explore
National median
Worse match Better match
Colorblind friendly off
Popular priorities:

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.

South Linden, Columbus' strengths and weaknesses

Each measure against the national median. Bars to the right beat the median; bars to the left fall short. Percentiles compare South Linden, Columbus with other neighborhoods.

Where South Linden, Columbus ranks high

  • Disaster safetyBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
  • Cheap car insuranceBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
  • Short commute20.4 minutes each way, better than 77% of neighborhoods
  • Cell coverageBetter than 70% of neighborhoods
  • TransitBetter than 68% of neighborhoods

Where South Linden, Columbus ranks low

  • Health outlookBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
  • Household income$40,925 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
  • Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
  • Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
  • Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of neighborhoods

What it costs to buy a home in South Linden, Columbus

A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Linden, Columbus home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $40,925, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.

Income to buy the median home
$36,000
a year, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate
Estimated monthly payment
$836
principal, interest, tax, and insurance on a $129,924 home
Median rent
$1,131
a month, across all home sizes

Where the monthly payment goes

Principal & interest$662
Property tax$131
Homeowners insurance$43

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 South Linden, Columbus' effective rate of 1.21%, 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.

Cumulative cost of renting versus owning the median home, first 10 years. Illustrative estimate.

Who lives in South Linden, Columbus

South Linden, Columbus runs younger than the country.

Median age
31
younger than the U.S. median of 41
Residents 65 and older
10%
versus 18% nationally
Average household
2.8
near the U.S. average of 2.6

Residents by age

Under 1834%
18 to 3422%
35 to 4918%
50 to 6417%
65 and older10%

Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Linden, Columbus.


Who works in South Linden, Columbus, and how

Work in South Linden, Columbus centers on health care & social and admin & support services. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.

Work from home
13%
below the national average
Unemployment
19.2%
above the national average
Job growth
−1.0%
/y 2019-2023, slower than the national pace

Largest industries

Health care & social20%
Admin & support services13%
Hospitality & food13%
Retail trade12%
Construction7%

How people get to work

  • Drive or carpool 73%
  • Work from home 13%
  • Transit, walk, or bike 14%

Life in South Linden, Columbus

The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South Linden, Columbus.


What the weather is like in South Linden, Columbus, month by month

South Linden, 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.

Average daily high, mean, and low in degrees Fahrenheit, NOAA station data 2016 to 2025.
Show the monthly temperatures
MonthAvg highAvgAvg low
January41°31°23°
April67°53°41°
July88°76°66°
October71°58°46°

Flying in and out of South Linden, Columbus

John Glenn Columbus International sits about 5 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.4 million passengers in 2025, with 94 nonstop destinations.

Nearest airport
CMH
John Glenn Columbus International, about 5 miles
Airport size
Medium hub
49th-busiest in the US, 94 nonstop destinations
Average drive
8 min
from the area, with no traffic

The best schools in and around South Linden, Columbus

Schools across South Linden, Columbus average a C, better than 37% of neighborhoods.

Top elementary schools

Top middle schools

Top high schools

Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Linden, Columbus school and its grade on SchoolGrade.


South Linden, 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 South Linden, Columbus against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.


Common questions about living in South Linden, Columbus

Is South Linden, Columbus a good place to live?

Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Linden, Columbus ranks 5,587th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low disaster risk, cheap car insurance, and short commutes, and lowest on health outcomes and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.

Is South Linden, Columbus expensive to live in?

The median home is worth $129,924. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $40,925 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.

Is South Linden, Columbus safe?

South Linden, Columbus is safer than 7% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $838 per resident a year.


Compare South Linden, Columbus with other neighborhoods


Sources and methodology

Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Linden, Columbus. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Linden, 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.

South Linden, Columbus detail on BestNeighborhood maps:

  1. Walk Grade for South Linden, Columbus: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
  2. Noise in South Linden, Columbus: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
  3. Conservative vs liberal map of South Linden, Columbus: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
  4. Mobile and cell coverage in South Linden, Columbus: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.

South Linden, Columbus detail on related sites:

  1. CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
  2. ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
  3. CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.

Federal and public data:

  1. 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.
  2. NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
  3. FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
  4. Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
  5. FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
  6. U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
  7. FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
  8. CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
  9. National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
  10. FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
  11. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
  12. Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.