The 10 Cheapest Columbus, OH Neighborhoods To Live In For 2022


We used science and data to determine which neighborhoods in Columbus are the cheapest of the cheap.

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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.

What's the cheapest neighborhood to live in Columbus for 2022? 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:

The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Columbus For 2022

1. Fort Columbus Airport

Fort Columbus Airport Columbus, OH

Source: Wikipedia User Pwojdacz | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 3,184
Cost Of Living Index: 76 (cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.1 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (2cheapest)
More on Fort Columbus Airport: Homes For Sale | Data

2. Southwest

Southwest Columbus, OH

Source: Wikipedia User Nheyob | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 19,909
Cost Of Living Index: 79 (5th 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

3. Franklinton

Franklinton Columbus, OH

Source: Wikipedia User Columbusite | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 7,306
Cost Of Living Index: 77 (3rd 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

4. North Linden

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 27,282
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (8th 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

5. Olentangy River Road

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

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

6. Tri-South

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 4,051
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (8th 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

7. Near Southside

Near Southside Columbus, OH

Source: Wikipedia User Postdlf | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 16,697
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (8th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.9 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.024 (3cheapest)
More on Near Southside: Homes For Sale | Data

8. South Alum Creek

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 4,981
Cost Of Living Index: 87 (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

9. Westland

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 36,756
Cost Of Living Index: 84 (16th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.3 (19th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.014 (10th cheapest)
More on Westland: Homes For Sale | Data

10. West Columbus Interim

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 53,633
Cost Of Living Index: 93 (26th 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

Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Columbus Hoods In 2022

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.

Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live 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:

Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Columbus For 2022

Rank Neighborhood Cost Of Living Index
1 Fort Columbus Airport 76
2 Southwest 79
3 Franklinton 77
4 North Linden 80
5 Olentangy River Road 77
6 Tri-South 80
7 Near Southside 80
8 South Alum Creek 87
9 Westland 84
10 West Columbus Interim 93
11 Whitehall 83
12 Far South 84
13 Brice-Tussing 87
14 North Central 80
15 Southeast 89
16 Northland 91
17 Northwest 95
18 Far North 98
19 Greater Hilltop 85
20 South Linden 77
21 Worthington 101
22 Clintonville 98
23 South Side 84
24 Northeast 81
25 Rocky-Fork Blacklick Accord 101
26 Near East 82
27 Bexley 109
28 Harrison West 103
29 University 83
30 Upper Arlington 112
31 Mckinley Avenue Corridor 90
32 South Central Accord 92
33 Milo Grogan 82
34 Victorican Village 106
35 Southside 110
36 Downtown 102
37 Italian Village 104
38 Brewery 117
39 Weinland Park 85

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2022. This is our third time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Columbus.

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.

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