The Columbus metro has never been Ohio’s largest job market, but that seems to be changing over time.
The January 2015 labor force jumped to a record high, and if trends hold, may pass the other 2 Cs by the end of the year.
http://statchatva.org/changing-shape-of-american-cities/
This link, entitled The Changing Shape of American Cities, gives comparison maps for multi-demographic data points between 1990 and 2012 for dozens of cities, including Columbus. It gives this demographics by distance, meaning that the information is broken down by the status at the mile distance from “City Hall”, or from the center of each city’s downtown area.
This allows users to compare cities using standardized areas even though cities come in very different sizes.
Using these graphs, here are some examples of the information we can see for Columbus’s immediate downtown.
% of Population with a Bachelor’s Degree at Mile 0
1990: 26%
2012: 51%
% of Population Aged 22-34 at Mile 0
1990: 32%
2012: 38%
% of Population Living Below the Poverty Line at Mile 0
1990: 30%
2012: 27%
Check out these comparisons and many more.