Best PlacesSouth Side, Columbus, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Side, 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.
South Side, Columbus ranks 4,198th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Side, 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.
South Side, Columbus' strengths and weaknesses
Where South Side, Columbus ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Short commute21.3 minutes each way, better than 72% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 70% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 66% of neighborhoods
Where South Side, Columbus ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 57 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South Side, Columbus
A household needs to earn about $58,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Side, Columbus home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $57,942; 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 South Side, Columbus' effective rate of 1.22%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Side, Columbus
South Side, 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 South Side, Columbus.
Who works in South Side, Columbus, and how
Work in South Side, Columbus centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in South Side, Columbus
South Side, Columbus has more parkland per resident than 91% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of South Side, Columbus and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Side, Columbus, month by month
South Side, Columbus sees roughly 57 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 South Side, 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 South Side, Columbus
Schools across South Side, Columbus average a C, better than 37% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Ecole Kenwood French ImmersionB · 48% proficient
- South Scioto AcademyC− · 30% proficient
- Finland Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Columbus City Preparatory School For GirlsC− · 30% proficient
- Franklin Woods Intermediate SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Franklin Heights High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Focus Learning Academy Of Southwest ColumbusD · 19% 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 South Side, Columbus school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Side, 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 Side, Columbus against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in South Side, Columbus
Is South Side, Columbus a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Side, Columbus ranks 4,198th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low disaster risk, and short commutes, and lowest on the weather and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Side, Columbus expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $209,979. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $57,942 median income, cost of living beats 39% of neighborhoods.
Is South Side, Columbus safe?
South Side, Columbus is safer than 20% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $619 per resident a year.
Compare South Side, Columbus with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Side, Columbus. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Side, 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 Side, Columbus detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Side, Columbus: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Side, Columbus: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Side, Columbus: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Side, Columbus: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Side, 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.