Best PlacesSouthern Orchards, Columbus, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Southern Orchards, 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.
Southern Orchards, Columbus ranks 3,171st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Southern Orchards, 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.
Southern Orchards, Columbus' strengths and weaknesses
Where Southern Orchards, Columbus ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
Where Southern Orchards, Columbus ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 28% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Southern Orchards, Columbus
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Southern Orchards, Columbus home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $70,084; 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 Southern Orchards, Columbus' effective rate of 0.85%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Southern Orchards, Columbus
Southern Orchards, 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 Southern Orchards, Columbus.
Who works in Southern Orchards, Columbus, and how
Work in Southern Orchards, Columbus centers on health care & social and other services. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Southern Orchards, Columbus
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Southern Orchards, Columbus.
What the weather is like in Southern Orchards, Columbus, month by month
Southern Orchards, 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 Southern Orchards, 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 Southern Orchards, Columbus
Schools across Southern Orchards, Columbus average a C, better than 37% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Ecole Kenwood French ImmersionB · 48% proficient
- Livingston Elementary SchoolF · 8% 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 Southern Orchards, Columbus school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Southern Orchards, 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 Southern Orchards, Columbus against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Southern Orchards, Columbus
Is Southern Orchards, Columbus a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Southern Orchards, Columbus ranks 3,171st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low disaster risk, heat safety, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on the weather and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Southern Orchards, Columbus expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $287,422. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $70,084 median income, cost of living beats 54% of neighborhoods.
Is Southern Orchards, Columbus safe?
Southern Orchards, Columbus is safer than 20% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $618 per resident a year.
Compare Southern Orchards, Columbus with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Southern Orchards, Columbus. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Southern Orchards, 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.
Southern Orchards, Columbus detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Southern Orchards, Columbus: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Southern Orchards, Columbus: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Southern Orchards, Columbus: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Southern Orchards, Columbus: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Southern Orchards, 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.