Geographical Surroundings
Franklin County and Columbus, Ohio Geographical Setting and Demographics (Short Version)
The main campus of The Ohio State University is located in Franklin County in the center of Ohio and home to Ohio’s capital city, Columbus. Columbus is the nation’s 15th largest city. Columbus is one of the leading test markets in the nation, a place from which many new products have been launched because the community is considered representative of the nation.
Columbus is the state’s largest city in both area and population. Although central city has lost population since the 1950’s, overall Columbus’ population has had steady growth due to annexation in suburban corridors. A few small farming areas still remain on the outskirts of Franklin County. Franklin County and Columbus have age distributions similar to the nation as a whole. The county and city are very similar to each other and the nation in level of education.
The city is comprised of neighborhoods somewhat, though not rigidly, distinguished by race, ethnicity, and cultural heritage and often separated by physical boundaries such as major highways, railroad tracks, and rivers. A large segment of Columbus’ population originated from the Appalachian regions of Ohio and the surrounding states, coming primarily to find work. Although the county population is largely of European descent, there is a dispersed but growing Hispanic population and an increasing number of immigrants from Ukraine, Ethiopia, Somalia and various Asian countries who live predominantly in the city. Interestingly, Columbus has the second largest Somali population in the U.S., over 25,000 strong.
Franklin County and Columbus, Ohio Geographical Setting and Demographics (Longer Version)
The main campus of The Ohio State University is located within Franklin County in the center of Ohio. Franklin County is made up of 540 square miles of land predominantly consisting of metropolitan areas and a few small farming communities on its outskirts. It has a population of over million persons within these areas. Franklin County is the home Columbus, the city and capital of the State of Ohio. Ninety-one percent of its people are native born, including 74 percent who were born in Ohio. It is ranked the 15th largest city in the U.S. and has a household population of 702,132 and growing. Franklin County and Columbus have age distributions similar to the nation as a whole. For example, the median age in Columbus is 32.5 years and twenty-five percent of the population is under 18 years while 9 percent are 65 years and older.
The city is comprised of neighborhoods somewhat, though not rigidly, distinguished by race, ethnicity, and cultural heritage and often separated by physical boundaries such as major highway, railroad tracks, and rivers. A large segment of Columbus’ population originated from the Appalachian regions of Ohio and the surrounding states, coming primarily to find work. In a recent poll, 67 percent of Columbus residents report that they are White alone; 26 percent are Black or African American; three percent are Hispanic; less than 0.5 percent are American Indian and Alaska Native; five percent are Asian; less than 0.5 percent are Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; one percent rate themselves as some other race; two percent report two or more races. In summary, although the area is largely of European descent, there is a dispersed but growing Hispanic populations and an increasing number of immigrants from Ukraine, Ethiopia, Somalia, and various Asian countries. Interestingly, Columbus has the second largest Somali population in the U.S. over 32,500 strong. In fact, nine percent of the people living in Columbus are foreign born. Twelve percent speak a language other than English at home (data includes respondents five years of age and older). Of those speaking a language other than English at home, 28 percent speak Spanish and 72 percent speak some other language and 52 percent report that they do not speak English "very well."
There are approximately 288,000 households in Columbus. The average household size is 2.37 people. Families make up 57 percent of the households. This figure includes both married-couple families (37 percent) and other families (20 percent). Non-family households make up 43 percent of all households. Most of the non-family households are people living alone, but some are comprised of people living in households in which no one is related to the householder.
About 79 percent of the people in Columbus reported that they lived in the same residence for at least one year. 15 percent had moved during the past year from another residence in the same county, 2 percent from another county in the same state, 2 percent from another state, and 1 percent from abroad.
Approximately, 87 percent of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 31 percent had a bachelor's degree or higher. Among people 16 to 19 years old, 7 percent were dropouts (i.e., were not presently enrolled in school and/or had not graduated from high school).
In 2003, the total school enrollment in Columbus City schools was 185,000. Preprimary school enrollment was 24,000 and elementary or high school enrollment was 100,000 children. College enrollment was 61,000.
Approximately, 14 percent of the people report having a disability (among people at least five years old). The likelihood of having a disability tended to increase with age. For example, report of disability was at 8 percent for people aged 5 to 20 years old, 12 percent of people aged 21 to 64 years, and 41 percent of those 65 year of age and older.
The leading industries in Columbus for the employed population of those 16 years and older are educational, health, and social services (22 percent) and Retail trade (13 percent). Among the most common occupations are: Management, professional, and related occupations (37 percent); Sales and office occupations (30 percent); Service occupations (16 percent); Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (11 percent); and Construction, extraction, and maintenance occupations (6 percent). Most people employed are of private wage and salary workers (79 percent); 16 percent are Federal, state, or local government workers; and 5 percent are Self-employed.
Eighty-two percent of the employed population drive to work alone, 9 percent carpooled, 3 percent took public transportation, and 3 percent used other means. The remaining 3 percent worked at home. Among those who commute to work, it takes them on average 20 minutes to get to work.
The median income of Columbus is $39,839. Eighty-three percent of the households received earnings and 13 percent received retirement income other than Social Security. Eighteen percent of the households received Social Security. The average income from Social Security is $11,634. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.
In Columbus, 17 percent of people are in poverty. Twenty-four percent of related children under 18 are below the poverty level, compared with 13 percent of people 65 years old and over. Thirteen percent of all families and 32 percent of families with a female householder and no husband present have incomes below the poverty level.
Columbus has approximately 341,000 housing units, 15.4 percent of which are vacant. Of the total housing units, 59 percent are single-unit structures, 40 percent are multi-unit structures, and mobile homes represent 1 percent. Twenty-one percent of the housing units were built since 1990.
Thus, approximately, 288,000 housing units are occupied. Fifty-four percent are owner occupied and 46 percent are renter occupied. Four percent of the households do not have telephone service and nine percent of the households do not have access to a car, truck, or van for private use. Thirty-nine percent of the households report two vehicles and another 12 percent have three or more.
The median monthly housing costs for mortgaged owners are approximately $1,063, $327 for non-mortgage owners, and $656 for renters. Thirty percent of owners with mortgages, 11 percent of owners without mortgages, and 44 percent of renters spend 30 percent or more on household income on housing.
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey Office (2004)
