Columbus, Ohio had 938,396 residents as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025), ranking #15 nationally and #1 in Ohio. cost of living runs 4.5% below the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $96,838/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
SourceU.S. Census · PEP
VintageV2025
Reference2025-07-01
Place typeIncorporated place
GEOID3918000
Last build2026-05-29
At a glance.
2025 population
938,396
Census Vintage 2025
Median HH income
$66,082
-15.0% vs US $77,719
Median home value
$252,900
-16.6% vs US $303,400
Avg July high
85°F
NOAA 1991–2020
Gigabit broadband
31%
ISP-reported, FCC BDC
Unemployment
4.1%
Columbus · BLS LAUS
Key statistics.
2025 population
938,396
Census Vintage 2025, July 1, 2025
2020 base
906,215
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
+32,181
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
+3.6%
Within V2025 only
1-yr change
+7,696
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
+0.8%
Within V2025 only
Density
4,228
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
221.9
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#15
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#1
of 924 in Ohio
Population history.
Population grew 3.6% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 906,215 → 2025: 938,396 (+3.6%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
906,215
April 1, 2020
2020
906,675
July 1, 2020
2021
902,800
July 1, 2021
2022
910,713
July 1, 2022
2023
919,569
July 1, 2023
2024
930,700
July 1, 2024
2025
938,396
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population grew 13.9% from 2010 to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
2010 base: 789,018 → 2019: 898,553 (+13.6%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2010 base
789,018
April 1, 2010
2010
790,943
July 1, 2010
2011
800,607
July 1, 2011
2012
812,740
July 1, 2012
2013
827,797
July 1, 2013
2014
841,673
July 1, 2014
2015
854,950
July 1, 2015
2016
866,894
July 1, 2016
2017
881,694
July 1, 2017
2018
890,869
July 1, 2018
2019
898,553
July 1, 2019
What's the median income in Columbus?
Median household income is 15% below the U.S. median ($66,082 vs $77,719); 18.1% live in poverty — 5.6 points above the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Income and poverty estimates for Columbus from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
66,082-15.0% vs US
±974
Per capita income
37,860-12.5% vs US
±464
Population in poverty
18.1%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 17% below the U.S. median ($252,900 vs $303,400); median rent is 4% below ($1,295 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio (3.8×) is roughly in line with the U.S. median (3.9×).
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Columbus. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
4.1%
Columbus (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
506,588
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
18.3%+30.9% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Columbus spans 3 counties; all are listed (no weighted average):
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Delaware County
4.3%
$136,215
3.6%
Fairfield County
8.1%
$90,728
4.0%
Franklin County
13.9%
$76,578
4.0%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Columbus's linked 3 counties in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2024 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Health care and social assistance (62)
142,664
$1,159 / wk
#2
Retail trade (44-45)
86,266
$790 / wk
#3
Accommodation and food services (72)
81,872
$516 / wk
#4
Professional and technical services (54)
59,813
$2,043 / wk
#5
Administrative and waste services (56)
54,230
$967 / wk
What workers earn in the Columbus, OH metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). See methodology §25.
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Fast Food and Counter Workers
32,270
$28,940
$13.91
Stockers and Order Fillers
31,630
$38,610
$18.56
Home Health and Personal Care Aides
25,540
$31,210
$15.00
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
24,390
$40,190
$19.32
Customer Service Representatives
22,100
$45,760
$22.00
Cashiers
19,300
$29,330
$14.10
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
27,930
$99,780
$47.97
Registered Nurses · benchmark
26,790
$82,520
$39.67
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
25,780
$31,240
$15.02
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
18,730
$60,370
$29.03
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
All items run 4.5% below the U.S. average (RPP 95.5); rents run 12.1% below (RPP 87.9) — the metro's housing affordability is the main driver.
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 95.5
−4.5% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Columbus, OH metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,430/mo
FY2026 · Columbus, OH HUD Metro FMR Area
State income tax (top marginal rate)
3.50%
3 brackets · TY2025
Family-of-four monthly budget total
$8,070/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
Single-adult monthly budget total
$4,434/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax
—
not applicable in Ohio · no modeled local income tax
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
15.0% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (6.0% of residents 5+).
Where Columbus's residents come from and what they speak at home, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Foreign-born is the share of residents born outside the U.S. (any citizenship status); language-at-home is reported only for residents 5 and older.
Measure
Value
± margin / note
Foreign-born share
15.0%+7.1% vs US
share of residents born outside the U.S. · U.S. median: 14% · ACS B05002
Speak only English at home
80.9%
share of population 5+ · ACS C16001 line 2
Top non-English language at home
Spanish6.0%
most-spoken language other than English among residents 5+ · ACS C16001 collapsed buckets
These are K-12 public school districts. Higher education (colleges and universities) is not represented in this dataset.
15 districts serve Columbus, from the NCES EDGE Geographic Relationship Files (GRF25, 2024–25 school year boundaries). The join is many-to-many — large cities often span multiple districts. Expand the list below to see every district sorted primary first. See methodology §12.
Source: NCES EDGE GRF25 · school year 2024–25 · methodology →
What's the climate like in Columbus?
Hottest month: July (85°F avg high). Coldest: January (21°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 41.5 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Columbus from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Composite risk spans 72.6–98.1/100 across 3 counties; most-cited top hazard is Hail (in 1 of 3).
Natural-hazard exposure for Columbus from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI March 2023). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
Columbus spans 3 counties. We list each separately because hurricane, flood, and fire risk varies meaningfully across county lines — manufacturing a single “city-level” risk score would hide that signal.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Delaware County
78.8
Relatively Low
Hail · score 89.4 · Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather · score 87.8 · Relatively High
Ice Storm · score 86.8 · Relatively High
Fairfield County
72.6
Relatively Low
Ice Storm · score 88.3 · Relatively High
Landslide · score 87.0 · Relatively Low
Hail · score 82.9 · Relatively Moderate
Franklin County
98.1
Relatively High
Cold Wave · score 99.2 · Very High
Heat Wave · score 98.9 · Relatively High
Riverine Flooding · score 98.8 · Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI March 2023 · methodology →
Internet & broadband.
21 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 31% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Columbus from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of June 30, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
21 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
19
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
32.0%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
31.2%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
454,335
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Columbus sits at state rank #1 among 924 cities in Ohio. Nearby in the state ranking:
Columbus is ranked #15 of 19,483 U.S. cities by 2025 population.
Just above in the profiled set: Charlotte, NC · #14 · 964,784 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Indianapolis, IN · #16 · 910,638 residents.
Quick travel facts for Columbus
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
John Glenn Columbus International Airport(CMH) ·
5 mi 8 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
Sep, Oct · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
The GEOID for Columbus is 3918000. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page.
