Everything else equal, I think we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.
I’d much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I’d rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.
And while every neighbhorhood in Columbus might be more expensive than living in rural Ohio, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.
So what exactly are those Columbus neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further — you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Columbus are the cheapest.
Here are the cheapest neighborhoods in Columbus for 2019:
What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in Columbus for 2019? According to the most recent census data, Fort Columbus Airport looks to be the cheaptest Columbus neighborhood to live in.
At this point we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for — some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Columbus. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates in return for more space and cheaper groceries.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Columbus that deserve a little bragging rights or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Columbus.
Once you’re done, you can look at the bottom of the story for a complete chart of every neighborhood we looked at from cheapest to most expensive.
For more Ohio reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Live In Ohio
- These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In Ohio
- Cheapest Cities To Live In America
- Cheapest States To Live In America
How We Determined The Cheapest Columbus Hoods In 2019
In order to rank the cheapest places to live in Columbus, we had to determine what criteria defines ‘cheap’.
Using census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- Overall Cost Of Living
- Rent To Income Ratio
- Median Home Value To Income Ratio
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 39 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index the ‘Cheapest City Neighborhood In Columbus.’ We’re lookin’ at you, Fort Columbus Airport.
Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the cheapest places Columbus. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from cheapest to most expensive.
The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Columbus For 2019
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Population: 3,184
Cost Of Living Index: 75 (1st cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.1 (1st cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (21st cheapest)
More on Fort Columbus Airport: Homes For Sale | Data
John Glenn Columbus International Airport, is an international airport located 6 miles east of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formerly known as Port Columbus International Airport, it is managed by the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, which also oversees operations at Rickenbacker International Airport and Bolton Field. The airport code ‘CMH’ stands for ‘Columbus Municipal Hangar,’ the original name for the airport.
The median income in Fort Columbus Airport comes in at $28,221 and the median home value is $31,675 for 2019.
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Population: 19,909
Cost Of Living Index: 81 (6th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.9 (7th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.017 (18th cheapest)
More on Southwest: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Southwest comes in at $38,392 and the median home value is $74,712 for 2019.
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Population: 7,306
Cost Of Living Index: 76 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.5 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.028 (34th cheapest)
More on Franklinton: Homes For Sale | Data
Franklinton is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. Franklinton is the first American settlement in Franklin County, Ohio. As the city of Columbus grew, the city annexed and incorporated the existing settlement and today it exists as a neighborhood immediately west of downtown.
The neighborhood gets its nickname of ‘The Bottoms’ because much of the land lies below the level of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and a floodwall is required to contain the rivers and protect the area from floods. The low-lying bottom land was well suited for farming, with the river serving as a direct connection to the Ohio River.
The median income in Franklinton comes in at $21,557 and the median home value is $33,033 for 2019.
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Population: 16,697
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (5th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.9 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.024 (31st cheapest)
More on Near Southside: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Near Southside comes in at $29,952 and the median home value is $58,285 for 2019.
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Population: 3,967
Cost Of Living Index: 77 (3rd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.2 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.036 (38th cheapest)
More on Olentangy River Road: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Olentangy River Road comes in at $23,333 and the median home value is $28,529 for 2019.
/10
Population: 13,301
Cost Of Living Index: 82 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (9th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (24th cheapest)
More on Far South: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Far South comes in at $39,897 and the median home value is $78,615 for 2019.
/10
Population: 4,981
Cost Of Living Index: 86 (20th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.9 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (20th cheapest)
More on South Alum Creek: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in South Alum Creek comes in at $49,726 and the median home value is $95,450 for 2019.
/10
Population: 27,282
Cost Of Living Index: 82 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (11th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (23rd cheapest)
More on North Linden: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in North Linden comes in at $38,485 and the median home value is $77,991 for 2019.
/10
Population: 53,633
Cost Of Living Index: 92 (25th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.2 (15th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.011 (5th cheapest)
More on West Columbus Interim: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in West Columbus Interim comes in at $72,645 and the median home value is $162,432 for 2019.
/10
Population: 4,051
Cost Of Living Index: 82 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.9 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.025 (32nd cheapest)
More on Tri-South: Homes For Sale | Data
The median income in Tri-South comes in at $33,916 and the median home value is $65,500 for 2019.
Summing Up The Cheapest Places In Columbus
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Columbus where prices are low and it’s cheap to live, this is an accurate list.
As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Columbus aren’t all cheap. Weinland Park takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Columbus.
We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.
For more Ohio reading, check out:
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Ohio
- 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In Ohio
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In Ohio
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In Ohio
- 10 Safest Places In Ohio
- 10 Worst Places To Live In Ohio
Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Columbus For 2019
| Rank | Neighborhood | Cost Of Living Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fort Columbus Airport | 75 |
| 2 | Southwest | 81 |
| 3 | Franklinton | 76 |
| 4 | Near Southside | 80 |
| 5 | Olentangy River Road | 77 |
| 6 | Far South | 82 |
| 7 | South Alum Creek | 86 |
| 8 | North Linden | 82 |
| 9 | West Columbus Interim | 92 |
| 10 | Tri-South | 82 |
| 11 | Westland | 86 |
| 12 | Greater Hilltop | 82 |
| 13 | Whitehall | 83 |
| 14 | North Central | 81 |
| 15 | Brice-Tussing | 87 |
| 16 | Northland | 88 |
| 17 | Southeast | 88 |
| 18 | South Side | 82 |
| 19 | Northwest | 94 |
| 20 | Far North | 97 |
| 21 | Worthington | 99 |
| 22 | South Linden | 78 |
| 23 | Clintonville | 97 |
| 24 | Rocky-Fork Blacklick Accord | 99 |
| 25 | Northeast | 83 |
| 26 | Near East | 83 |
| 27 | Bexley | 108 |
| 28 | Upper Arlington | 112 |
| 29 | Harrison West | 105 |
| 30 | Mckinley Avenue Corridor | 91 |
| 31 | University | 83 |
| 32 | Milo Grogan | 82 |
| 33 | Victorican Village | 105 |
| 34 | South Central Accord | 94 |
| 35 | Southside | 108 |
| 36 | Italian Village | 103 |
| 37 | Downtown | 102 |
| 38 | Brewery | 116 |
| 39 | Weinland Park | 84 |
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