The 10 Best Columbus Suburbs To Live In For 2022


We analyzed over 33 places around Columbus to identify the most in demand places to live.

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Editor’s Note: Data has been updated for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the best Columbus suburbs.

Big city living isn't for everyone--but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.

There's the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There's traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing--pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you're looking at.

But that's where the suburbs come in--they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.

Of course, not all suburbs of Columbus are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado...

Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around Columbus for 2022:

  1. Upper Arlington
  2. Powell
  3. Grandview Heights
  4. Dublin
  5. Granville
  6. Bexley
  7. Westerville
  8. Worthington
  9. New Albany
  10. Gahanna

What's the best suburb of Columbus? Upper Arlington ranks as the best suburb of Columbus for 2022 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Upper Arlington, you're probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.

We'll tell you what makes each of these 10 Columbus 'burbs better than the rest--but first, a bit about our methodology.

Note: This result may differ from our state wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a larger selection of suburbs.

Feel free to check out some more reading about Ohio:

The 10 Best Columbus Suburbs To Live For 2022

Upper Arlington is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Columbus area. We'll tell you the good about "Awesome Upper Arlington."

Everyone here is rich; families average $124,688 a year, which is the 5th highest in the Columbus region. And only 2.53% are out of work. Homes average more than $429,100 each.

Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 35,364
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Income: $124,688
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%
Poverty Rate: 1.8%
More on Upper Arlington: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Upper Arlington, OH

Powell is the second best 'burb we looked at near Columbus for 2022.

It ranks 2nd for incomes in the area and only 3.89% of residents lack insurance, good for 13th best.

Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 13,353
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 1)
Median Income: $159,368
Unemployment Rate: 2.2%
Poverty Rate: 1.3%
More on Powell: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Powell, OH

Here in Grandview Heights, it's really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you'll see in the Columbus metro area.

The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.

But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Grandview Heights.

Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 8,254
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $93,367
Unemployment Rate: 2.1%
Poverty Rate: 5.1%
More on Grandview Heights: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Grandview Heights, OH

Dublin ranks as the 4th best suburb of Columbus for 2022.

You won't find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Dublin and the schools are some of the best around.

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 47,824
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Median Income: $138,372
Unemployment Rate: 1.9%
Poverty Rate: 2.4%
More on Dublin: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Dublin, OH

Coming in as the fifth best is Granville.

Granville gets kudos for having the 6th most expensive homes in the Columbus area, where houses sell for an average of $389,200. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.

Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 5,829
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Median Income: $132,566
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 2.8%
More on Granville: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Granville, OH

Bexley is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here's why.

Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 3.76% which is 20th best in the area.

According to online reports, Bexley is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Columbus area, meaning you need to get in soon.

Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 13,805
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 2)
Median Income: $109,805
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%
Poverty Rate: 6.0%
More on Bexley: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Bexley, OH

The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Westerville.

Westerville schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.

And, it's only 10.3 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 40,443
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 3)
Median Income: $92,287
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 5.3%
More on Westerville: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Westerville, OH

Worthington is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.

A solid 2.13% of people lack insurance, good for 6th in the area.

Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 14,961
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 4)
Median Income: $105,373
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%
Poverty Rate: 3.3%
More on Worthington: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Worthington, OH

Source: Public domain

Is 'Everything Better In New Albany?'

Almost.

It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it's really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 11,085
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 2)
Median Income: $200,580
Unemployment Rate: 3.5%
Poverty Rate: 1.4%
More on New Albany: Real Estate | Data | Photos

New Albany, OH

Source: Public domain

And rounding out the top ten for 2022 is Gahanna.

This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It's far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 35,442
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Income: $89,945
Unemployment Rate: 2.3%
Poverty Rate: 3.9%
More on Gahanna: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Gahanna, OH

Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Columbus for 2022

Figuring out the best suburbs around Columbus was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:

  • Low unemployment rate
  • High Median household incomes
  • Population density (lots of things to do)
  • High home values
  • A lot of college educated people
  • Low poverty
  • High rate of insured families

Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2016-2020 to research each suburb.

FYI: We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Columbus.

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 35 suburbs to evaluate around Columbus.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 35 in each category, where 1 was the "best.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality of life index.

And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the "Best Suburb near Columbus." We're lookin' at you, Upper Arlington. You can download the data here.

Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.

Summary: Welcome to the Best Columbus 'Burbs of 2022

We said it once and we'll say it again--life in the big city isn't for everyone. At least not all the time.

So if you're hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like Columbus, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.

For more Ohio reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Columbus Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income
1 Upper Arlington, OH 35,364 $124,688
2 Powell, OH 13,353 $159,368
3 Grandview Heights, OH 8,254 $93,367
4 Dublin, OH 47,824 $138,372
5 Granville, OH 5,829 $132,566
6 Bexley, OH 13,805 $109,805
7 Westerville, OH 40,443 $92,287
8 Worthington, OH 14,961 $105,373
9 New Albany, OH 11,085 $200,580
10 Gahanna, OH 35,442 $89,945
11 Canal Winchester, OH 9,148 $99,418
12 Hilliard, OH 37,023 $102,283
13 Pickerington, OH 21,257 $101,577
14 Commercial Point, OH 2,174 $79,318
15 Groveport, OH 5,630 $72,351
16 Marysville, OH 24,569 $79,016
17 Sunbury, OH 5,934 $80,663
18 Ashville, OH 4,281 $68,966
19 Delaware, OH 41,818 $74,130
20 Reynoldsburg, OH 38,016 $65,623
21 Pataskala, OH 15,751 $75,851
22 Heath, OH 10,847 $51,524
23 West Jefferson, OH 4,413 $57,768
24 London, OH 10,241 $56,401
25 South Bloomfield, OH 2,490 $76,970
26 Mount Sterling, OH 2,023 $51,910
27 Grove, OH 7,060 $42,780
28 Lancaster, OH 40,438 $44,794
29 Buckeye Lake, OH 2,839 $52,298
30 Obetz, OH 5,205 $68,762
31 Johnstown, OH 19,381 $29,171
32 Baltimore, OH 3,005 $41,424
33 Circleville, OH 13,986 $44,092
34 Hebron, OH 2,370 $41,739
35 Whitehall, OH 18,944 $42,951

How Is Your Town In ?

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.