This interactive map on Columbus annexation history gives detailed information on every single annexation the city has done since the 1830s. Columbus annexation has been generally slowing down over the years, particularly since the 1970s, but it still happens once in a while. This map provides a great source for seeing exactly how Columbus has grown over its history.
For this post, I want to focus on politics and Ohio’s economic performance in relation to the party in power. There’s been much said over whether the economy does better under Republicans or Democrats at the national level, and I wanted to see if national politics played any role in the economic performance of Columbus and Ohio overall. Now, to put it simply, I really just looked at Bureau of Labor Statistics to see how the economy performed under different administrations. It’s not necessarily going to be a very deep analysis beyond that. In recent surveys, many user responses chose political content as something I should contribute to the site more often. While I do not want to make the site overtly political, I think there can be a balance by using a data-driven approach. This is what I used in past posts relating to politics, from Covid numbers to voting totals.
In any case, we have to determine what administrations we’re going to look at. First, the criteria is that they have to be completed adminisrations, as we will look at entire 4-year periods. The data for the BLS for Ohio goes back to 1976, but only to 1990 for Columbus itself. Therefore, for the state we will use Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush II, Obama and Trump for the state numbers, and Clinton, Bush II, Obama and Trump for city numbers. Will the state numbers follow the same patterns as the city, or not?
For this post, it’s all about Ohio.
Let’s look at the overall stats of each president. These will be Labor Force (people within the job market), Employment (people in the labor force with jobs), Unemployment (people in the labor force without jobs), and Unemployment Rate (percent of the labor force without jobs).
State of Ohio | Labor Force Data | |||
President | Figure at Term Beginning | Figure at Term End | Net Change | % Change |
Jimmy Carter (D) 1/1977-1/1981 | 4,781,086 | 5,085,673 | +304,587 | +6.37 |
Ronald Reagan (R) 1st Term 1/1981-1/1985 | 5,085,673 | 5,088,875 | +3,202 | +0.06 |
Ronald Reagan (R) 2nd Term 1/1985-1/1989 | 5,088,875 | 5,316,349 | +227,474 | +4.47 |
George H.W. Bush (R) 1/1989-1/1993 | 5,316,349 | 5,478,918 | +162,569 | +3.06 |
Bill Clinton (D) 1st Term 1/1993-1/1997 | 5,478,918 | 5,684,684 | +205,766 | +3.76 |
Bill Clinton (D) 2nd Term 1/1997-1/2001 | 5,684,684 | 5,802,000 | +117,316 | +2.06 |
George W. Bush (R) 1st Term 1/2001-1/2005 | 5,802,000 | 5,851,991 | +49,991 | +0.86 |
George W. Bush (R) 2nd Term 1/2005-1/2009 | 5,851,991 | 5,960,636 | +108,645 | +1.86 |
Barack Obama (D) 1st Term 1/2009-1/2013 | 5,960,636 | 5,705,642 | -254,994 | -4.28 |
Barack Obama (D) 2nd Term 1/2013-1/2017 | 5,705,642 | 5,791,153 | +85,511 | +1.50 |
Donald Trump (R) 1st Term 1/2017-1/2021 | 5,791,153 | 5,720,805 | -70,348 | -1.21 |
Joe Biden (D) 1/2021-1/2025 | 5,720,805 | 5,922,243 | +201,438 | +3.52 |
Next up, Employment.
State of Ohio | Employment Data | |||
President | Figure at Term Beginning | Figure at Term End | Net Change | % Change |
Jimmy Carter (D) 1/1977-1/1981 | 4,423,538 | 4,629,708 | +206,170 | +4.66 |
Ronald Reagan (R) 1st Term 1/1981-1/1985 | 4,629,708 | 4,633,809 | 4,101 | +0.09 |
Ronald Reagan (R) 2nd Term 1/1985-1/1989 | 4,633,809 | 5,032,921 | +399,112 | +8.61 |
George H.W. Bush (R) 1/1989-1/1993 | 5,032,921 | 5,092,311 | +59,390 | +1.18 |
Bill Clinton (D) 1st Term 1/1993-1/1997 | 5,092,311 | 5,396,922 | +304,611 | +5.98 |
Bill Clinton (D) 2nd Term 1/1997-1/2001 | 5,396,922 | 5,577,863 | +180,941 | +3.35 |
George W. Bush (R) 1st Term 1/2001-1/2005 | 5,577,863 | 5,484,332 | -93,531 | -1.68 |
George W. Bush (R) 2nd Term 1/2005-1/2009 | 5,484,332 | 5,437,168 | -47,164 | -0.86 |
Barack Obama (D) 1st Term 1/2009-1/2013 | 5,437,168 | 5,279,345 | -157,823 | -2.90 |
Barack Obama (D) 2nd Term 1/2013-1/2017 | 5,279,345 | 5,489,730 | +210,385 | +3.99 |
Donald Trump (R) 1st Term 1/2017-1/2021 | 5,489,730 | 5,370,247 | -119,483 | -2.18 |
Joe Biden (D) 1/2021-1/2025 | 5,370,247 | 5,651,168 | +280,921 | +5.23 |
Now Unemployment.
State of Ohio | Unemployment Data | |||
President | Figure at Term Beginning | Figure at Term End | Net Change | % Change |
Jimmy Carter (D) 1/1977-1/1981 | 357,548 | 455,965 | +98,417 | +27.53 |
Ronald Reagan (R) 1st Term 1/1981-1/1985 | 455,965 | 455,066 | -899 | -0.2 |
Ronald Reagan (R) 2nd Term 1/1985-1/1989 | 455,066 | 283,428 | -171,638 | -37.72 |
George H.W. Bush (R) 1/1989-1/1993 | 283,428 | 386,607 | +103,179 | +36.40 |
Bill Clinton (D) 1st Term 1/1993-1/1997 | 386,607 | 287,762 | -98,845 | -25.57 |
Bill Clinton (D) 2nd Term 1/1997-1/2001 | 287,762 | 224,137 | -63,625 | -22.11 |
George W. Bush (R) 1st Term 1/2001-1/2005 | 224,137 | 367,659 | +143,522 | +64.03 |
George W. Bush (R) 2nd Term 1/2005-1/2009 | 367,659 | 523,468 | +155,809 | +42.38 |
Barack Obama (D) 1st Term 1/2009-1/2013 | 523,468 | 426,297 | -97,171 | -18.56 |
Barack Obama (D) 2nd Term 1/2013-1/2017 | 426,297 | 301,423 | -124,874 | -29.29 |
Donald Trump (R) 1st Term 1/2017-1/2021 | 301,423 | 350,558 | +49,135 | +16.30 |
Joe Biden (D) 1/2021-1/2025 | 350,558 | 271,075 | -79,483 | -22.67 |
And finally, the Unemployment Rate
State of Ohio | Unemployment Rate Data | ||
President | Figure at Term Beginning | Figure at Term End | Net Change |
Jimmy Carter (D) 1/1977-1/1981 | 7.5 | 9.0 | +1.5 |
Ronald Reagan (R) 1st Term 1/1981-1/1985 | 9.0 | 8.9 | -0.1 |
Ronald Reagan (R) 2nd Term 1/1985-1/1989 | 8.9 | 5.3 | -3.6 |
George H.W. Bush (R) 1/1989-1/1993 | 5.3 | 7.1 | +1.8 |
Bill Clinton (D) 1st Term 1/1993-1/1997 | 7.1 | 5.1 | -2.0 |
Bill Clinton (D) 2nd Term 1/1997-1/2001 | 5.1 | 3.9 | -1.2 |
George W. Bush (R) 1st Term 1/2001-1/2005 | 3.9 | 6.3 | +2.4 |
George W. Bush (R) 2nd Term 1/2005-1/2009 | 6.3 | 8.8 | +2.5 |
Barack Obama (D) 1st Term 1/2009-1/2013 | 8.8 | 7.5 | -1.3 |
Barack Obama (D) 2nd Term 1/2013-1/2017 | 7.5 | 5.2 | -2.3 |
Donald Trump (R) 1st Term 1/2017-1/2021 | 5.2 | 6.1 | +0.9 |
Joe Biden (D) 1/2021-1/2025 | 6.1 | 4.6 | -1.5 |
Presidents Ranked by Ohio Performance Overall Per Average Rank Position
1. Bill Clinton/Ronald Reagan: 2.0
2. Joe Biden: 3.75
3. Barack Obama: 4.25
4. Jimmy Carter: 4.5
5. Donald Trump: 6.0
6. George H.W. Bush: 7.0
7. George W. Bush: 7.5
It seems pretty clear based on this that Ohio does significantly better when Democrats are in the Oval Office. They produced 5x the number of jobs and moved the unemployment rate down by an average of -1.7 points, while Republicans moved it up by an average of almost 1 point. Every single metric measured by the BLS did better under Democrats. Only Reagan really stood out for Republicans while even Carter- regularly derided as a terrible president- did better than all 3 other Republicans on the list. In regards to the two most recent presidents from both parties, Biden clearly had much more favorable numbers than Trump did in his first term.
Now, does this trend translate to the more local level? In an upcoming post, I will examine how the Columbus Metro performed
From 1945 until an atmospheric test moratorium in July, 1962, atomic bomb testing in Nevada was so common that Las Vegas tourists would hold parties just to watch the tests from their hotel rooms. Little was known, at least in the beginning, about the effects of nuclear fallout, or just how far it could actually spread.
On April 18, 1955, during what was known as Operation Teapot, the Columbus Dispatch reported that radiation from the testing site had reached Columbus.
The radiation had come from the MET test which occurred on April 15, 1955. The bomb was 22 kilotons in size. The video above is from the MET test itself.
Events like this happened several times as the jet stream carried radioactive fallout across the country, and the 1955 nuclear test fallout wouldn’t be the last. It’s unclear whether this fallout had any substantial health impacts long-term, locally or otherwise, but today we understand that even relatively low doses of radiation increase one’s risk for developing cancers down the road. Luckily, these increased levels tended to last a day or two only.
The US Census has released 2024 city population estimates. These estimates are for all incorporated places.
First, let’s look at the top 25 largest Ohio cities on July 1, 2024.
Purple cities moved up in the ranking since 2020 and red moved down.
Rank | City | 2020 | 2023 | 2024 |
1 | Columbus | 905,939 | 920,569 | 933,263 |
2 | Cleveland | 372,626 | 364,276 | 365,379 |
3 | Cincinnati | 309,561 | 312,703 | 314,915 |
4 | Toledo | 270,877 | 265,798 | 265,638 |
5 | Akron | 190,408 | 189,142 | 189,664 |
6 | Dayton | 137,677 | 135,936 | 136,346 |
7 | Parma | 81,121 | 79,310 | 79,,350 |
8 | Canton | 70,743 | 69,230 | 69,211 |
9 | Lorain | 65,218 | 65,413 | 65,751 |
10 | Hamilton | 63,393 | 63,516 | 63,953 |
11 | Youngstown | 60,047 | 59,195 | 59,123 |
12 | Springfield | 58,644 | 58,041 | 58,138 |
13 | Kettering | 57,860 | 57,035 | 57,028 |
14 | Elyria | 52,668 | 53,181 | 53,604 |
15 | Middletown | 50,986 | 51,882 | 52,291 |
16 | Newark | 49,970 | 51,162 | 51,424 |
17 | Cuyahoga Falls | 51,116 | 50,865 | 50,979 |
18 | Lakewood | 50,940 | 49,564 | 49,517 |
19 | Dublin | 49,315 | 49,292 | 49,456 |
20 | Euclid | 49,689 | 48,439 | 48,421 |
21 | Beavercreek | 46,562 | 47,327 | 48,012 |
22 | Mansfield | 47,530 | 47,676 | 47,593 |
23 | Mentor | 47,442 | 47,000 | 47,113 |
24 | Delaware | 41,327 | 45,364 | 46,521 |
25 | Strongsville | 46,487 | 45,719 | 45,768 |
Columbus gained 12,694 residents July 1, 2023 to July 1, 2024. This was the 14th highest numeric change of all US cities at or above 20,000 in population. In doing so, it became Ohio’s all-time largest city by population in history, surpassing Cleveland’s historic high of 914,80 in 1950.
Now let’s look at all incorporated places within the Columbus Metro Area, their rank on July 1, 2024, and their total population change July 1, 2023 to July 1, 2024.
Blue places moved up in the rankings since 2020, while red moved down.
1. Columbus: 933,263 +12,694
2. Newark: 51,424 +262
3. Dublin: 49,456 +164
4. Delaware: 46,521 +1,157
5. Grove City: 44,019 +875
6. Reynoldsburg: 42,897 +1,386
7. Lancaster: 41,671 +191
8. Hilliard: 38,832 +1,202
9. Westerville: 38,612 +119
10. Upper Arlington: 36,140 +96
11. Gahanna: 35,544 +86
12. Marysville: 29,276 +821
13. Pickerington: 25,814 +546
14. Whitehall: 19,940 +41
15. Pataskala: 18,493 +113
16. Worthington: 14,649 +31
17. Powell: 14,613 +50
18. Circleville: 14,433 +210
19. Bexley: 12,793 -97
20. New Albany: 11,604 +179
21. Heath: 10,822 +70
22. London: 10,743 +193
23. Canal Winchester: 10,060 +213
24. Sunbury: +1,324
25. Grandview Heights: 9,184 +275
26. Obetz: 7,306 +287
27. Logan: 7,142 -33
28. Granville: 6,308 +23
29. Groveport: 5,867 +11
30. Johnstown: 5,356 +31
31. West Jefferson: 4,943 +454
32. Ashville: 4,758 +77
33. New Lexington: 4,463 +7
34. Plain City: 4,374 +23
35. South Bloomfield: 3,747 +241
36. Mount Gilead: 3,543 +18
37. Commercial Point: 3,221 +51
38. Baltimore: 3,089 +35
39. Lithopolis: 2,859 +143
40. Buckeye Lake: 2,575 +12
41. Richwood: 2,575 +78
42. Hebron: 2,406 +15
43. Crooksville: 2,401 -1
44. Cardington: 2,203 +102
45. Utica: 2,131 +12
46. Mount Sterling: 2,070 +35
47. Minerva Park: 1,961 +3
48. Roseville: 1,744 +0
49. Bremen: 1,520 +9
50. Somerset: 1,483 +9
51. Hanover: 1,351 +35
52. Ashley: 1,350 +25
53. Ostrander: 1,227 +25
54. Thornville: 1,093 +2
55. Galena: 1,021 +9
56. Williamsport: 1,016 +17
57. Urbancrest: 1,013 +4
58. Millersport: 993 +15
59. Pleasantville: 954 +8
60. Shawnee Hills: 939 +18
61. Milford Center: 932 +26
62. New Holland: 831 +13
63. Junction City: 723 +3
64. Amanda: 678 +1
65. Marble Cliff: 663 +30
66. Valleyview: 653 -1
67. New Straitsville: 649 +1
68. Thurston: 610 +3
69. Riverlea: 580 -1
70. Stoutsville: 580 +3
71. Buchtel: 519 +3
72. Laurelville: 505 -5
73. Shawnee: 503 +1
74. Carroll: 501 +0
75. Alexandria: 497 +2
76. Corning: 484 +1
77. Kirkersville: 479 +2
78. Edison: 443 +2
79. Hartford: 413 +2
80. Sugar Grove: 408 +0
81. St. Louisville: 365 +1
82. Murray City: 335 -4
83. South Solon: 330 +2
84. Harrisburg: 314 +3
85. Rushville: 305 +1
86. Magnetic Springs: 302 +9
87. Marengo: 281 +1
88. Midway: 273 +2
89. Tarlton: 266 +5
90. Fulton: 251 +3
91. Unionville Center: 235 -3
92. Lockbourne: 232 +0
93. Gratiot: 217 +1
94. Chesterville: 200 +5
95. Darbyville: 189 +2
96. West Rushville: 164 -2
97. Glenford: 163 -2
98. Hemlock: 147 +0
99. Sparta: 123 +0
100. Brice: 101 +9
90% of Columbus metro places were either steady or saw outright growth 2023-2024. These numbers are much improved from the Covid era where many places were seeing population declines, especially the larger cities and suburbs.
Columbus’ growth represented 73% of Franklin County’s total growth 2023-2024 and 84.1% of the county’s growth 2020-2024. Additionally, Columbus alone repesented 41.8% of the metro’s growth 2023-2024 and 31.6% of the metro’s growth 2020-2024.
To see the original estimates from 2023, visit 2023 Population Estimates of Columbus Area Places
Winter 2024-2025 was the 4th season in a row in which snowfall was well below normal. Only a single winter in the past 10- 2017-2018- has had above normal snowfall, and only just. Two others- 2018-2019 and 2020-2021- had near normal snowfall, though still slightly below the 30-year average, and the other 7 have been significantly below normal. Average winter snowfall for the past decade has been just 17.8″, more than 10″ below the 1991-2020 average. Additionally, the 2024-2025 season lacked a 6″ snowfall, either daily or in any single event. There has been no 6″ snowfall since February 22, 2015, the second longest such period since records began.
The December-February period was colder than normal, and it was the coldest heart of winter since 2014-2015. This was thanks largely to January, which also featured the majority of the season’s snowfall.
December-February
Traditional winter numbers, 1991-2020 departures from normal where relevant, and overall winter rankings.
Rankings are accurate as of the time of the post.
Average High: 38.1 (-1.7) 44th Coldest
Average Low: 23.6 (-0.9) 45th Coldest
Mean: 30.8 (-1.4) Tied for 39th Coldest
Coldest High: 11 on January 20th
Coldest Low: -3 on January 22nd
Coldest Mean: 5.5 on January 21st
# of 32 or Below Highs: 29 (+3.2) 21st Most
# of 32 or Below Lows: 72 (+3.2) 17th Most
Warmest High: 65 on February 3rd
Warmest Low: 51 on December 28th
Warmest Mean: 57 on December 28th
Precipitation: 8.11″ (-0.43″) 59th Wettest
Snowfall: 14.6″ (-13.6″) 46th Least Snowy
Average Daily Snow Depth: 0.6″ (-0.2″) Tied for 7th Lowest
Maximum Snow Depth: 5″ on January 6th and 11th.
Largest Snowstorm: 4.4″ on January 5th-6th.
1″+ Snowfall Events: 7 Tied for 8th Fewest
# of Measurable Precipitation Days: 37 (-2.1) Tied for 13th Fewest
# of Measurable Snowfall Days: 15 (-6.4) Tied for 11th Fewest
Highest Average Daily Wind Speed in MPH: 19.2 on December 5th
Highest Wind Gust in MPH: 55 on December 5th
# of Clear Days: 4 4.44%
# of Partly Cloudy Days: 39 43.33%
# of Cloudy Days: 47 52.23%
Entire Cold Season: October-April
Average High: 52.7 9th Warmest
Average Low: 34.1 18th Warmest
Mean: 43.4 9th Warmest
Precipitation: 18.66″ 56th Wettest
Snowfall: 14.8″ 29th Least Snowy
Average Snow Depth: 0.3″ Tied for 4th Lowest
Largest Snowstorm: 4.4″ on January 5th-6th
# of 32 or Below Highs: 30 Tied for 21st Fewest
# of 32 or Below Lows: 96 Tied for 17th Fewest
# of Measurable Precipitation Days: 74 Tied for 9th Fewest
# of Measurable Snowfall Days: 17 Tied for 8th Fewest
Highest Average Daily Wind Speed in MPH: 19.2 on December 5th
Highest Wind Gust in MPH: 59 on April 29th
# of Clear Days: 34 16.04%
# of Partly Cloudy Days: 90 42.45%
# of Cloudy Days: 88 41.51%
High Temperature Records Set
11/1/2024- A record warm high of 78 was set for the date, breaking the old record of 77 set in 2022.
11/5/2024- A record warm high of 79 was set for the date, breaking the old record of 77 set in 2022.
2/3/2025- A record warm high of 65 was set for the date, breaking the old record of 63 set in 1890.
3/14/2025- A record warm high of 79 was set for the date, breaking the old record of 78 set in 1990.
Low Temperature Records Set
10/30/2024- A record warm low of 59 degrees was tied for the date, matching the previous record set in 2004.
11/5/2024- A record warm low of 62 was tied for the date, matching the old record set in 2022.
3/29/2025- A record warm low of 63 was set for the date, breaking the old record of 59 set in 1977.
Precipitation Records Set
None set.
Snowfall Records Set
10/15/2024- A record 0.1″ of snowfall occurred for the date. It was the first recorded instance of measurable snowfall for the date.
Forecast for what would be Columbus’ largest snowfall of the season.
Highest Daily Precipitation by Month
October 2024: 0.12″ on the 15th
November 2024: 0.97″ on the 14th
December 2024: 1.03″ on the 29th
January 2025: 0.24″ on the 18th
February 2025: 1.15″ on the 16th
March 2025: 0.65″ on the 30th
April 2025: 1.88″ on the 3rd
Highest Daily Snowfall By Month
October 2024: 0.1″ on the 15th
November 2024: 0.1″ on the 21st
December 2024: 0.3″ on the 11th
January 2025: 2.4″ on the 6th
February 2025: 1.9″ on the 16th
March 2025: Trace on multiple days.
April 2025: Trace on the 6th and 7th
Deepest Snow Depth By Month
October 2024: 0″ on all days.
November 2024: Trace on the 29th
December 2024: Trace on the 12th and 13th
January 2025: 5″ on the 6th and 11th
February 2025: 2″ on the 17th and 18th
March 2025: Trace on the 17th
April 2025: 0″ on all days.
Highest Wind Gust by Month in MPH
October 2024: 46 on the 13th
November 2024: 43 on the 20th
December 2024: 55 on the 5th
January 2025: 38 on the 16th
February 2025: 43 on the 28th
March 2025: 53 on the 30th
April 2025: 59 on the 29th
Clear Days by Month
October 2024: 18 58.06%
November 2024: 3 10.0%
December 2024: 0 0.0%
January 2025: 3 9.68%
February 2025: 1 3.57%
March 2025: 4 12.9%
April 2025: 5 16.67%
Partly Cloudy Days by Month
October 2024: 12 38.71%
November 2024: 11 36.67%
December 2024: 12 38.71%
January 2025: 13 41.94%
February 2025: 14 50.0%
March 2025: 17 54.84%
April 2025: 11 36.66%
Cloudy Days by Month
October 2024: 1 3.23%
November 2024: 16 53.33%
December 2024: 19 61.29%
January 2025: 15 48.39%
February 2025: 13 46.43%
March 2025: 10 32.26%
April 2025: 14 46.67%
