Category Archives: Columbus History

2012 Jobs Data

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2012 jobs data

Columbus City
Civilian Labor Force January 2012: 422,500
Civilian Labor Force December 2012: 426,600
Yearly Change: +4,100
Employment January 2012: 392,700
Employment December 2012: 403,800
Yearly Change: +11,100
Unemployment January 2012: 29,800
Unemployment December 2012: 22,700
Yearly Change: -7,100
Unemployment Rate January 2012: 7.1%
Unemployment Rate December 2012: 5.3%
Yearly Change: -1.8%

Franklin County
Civilian Labor Force January 2012: 617,700
Civilian Labor Force December 2012: 623,900
Yearly Change: +6,200
Employment January 2012: 574,400
Employment December 2012: 590,600
Yearly Change: +16,200
Unemployment January 2012: 43,300
Unemployment December 2012: 33,300
Yearly Change: -10,000
Unemployment Rate January 2012: 7.0%
Unemployment Rate December 2012: 5.3%
Yearly Change: -1.7%

City and County numbers are rounded.

Columbus Metro Area
Civilian Labor Force January 2012: 949,737
Civilian Labor Force December 2012: 958,689
Yearly Change: +8,952
Employment January 2012: 880,680
Employment December 2012: 906,886
Yearly Change: +26,206
Unemployment January 2012: 69,057
Unemployment December 2012: 51,803
Yearly Change: -17,254
Unemployment Rate January 2012: 7.3%
Unemployment Rate December 2012: 5.4%
Yearly Change: -1.9%

Metro Area Continued
Non-Farm Jobs January 2012: 927,300
Non-Farm Jobs December 2012: 962,300
Yearly Change: +35,000

Metro Yearly Jobs Changes by Industry
Mining/Logging/Construction: +2,400
Manufacturing: +1,300
Trade/Transportation/Utilities: +10,700
Information: -100
Financial Activities: +1,800
Professional and Business Services: +4,400
Education and Health Services: +5,700
Leisure and Hospitality: +6,100
Other Services: +700
Government: +2,000

Ohio Overall
Civilian Labor Force January 2012: 5,780,410
Civilian Labor Force December 2012: 5,728,748
Yearly Change: -51,662
Employment January 2012: 5,339,657
Employment December 2012: 5,344,151
Yearly Change: +4,494
Employment January 2012: 440,753
Employment December 2012: 384,597
Yearly Change: -56,156
Unemployment Rate January 2012: 7.6%
Unemployment Rate December 2012: 6.7%
Yearly Change: -0.9%

Local employment data back to 1990 is at Columbus MSA Economy



April 2013 Project Updates for Downtown

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These monthly updates do not include all ongoing projects, but just updates on the most significant or those that have recently made news. To see the full list, check out the Columbus Development page.

Downtown
1. The ongoing Neighborhood Launch expansion continues The current expansion includes a pair of 5-story buildings along E. Long Street at N. 5th. The two buildings will contain about 260 new apartments. The foundations are mostly complete and the buildings are now going vertical. The former Faith Mission at 315 E. Long will be renovated and converted into an event and meeting space for new residents of the project.
2. Construction continues on the High Point residential project at Columbus Commons. Just over 300 apartments as well as ground floor retail and a handful of park-side restaurants will be included once complete. Work is well underway on the 2nd story of these twin 6-story buildings.
3. An application for architectural review has been submitted to the downtown commission for Discovery Commons, a 5-story residential project at E. Spring and Neilston that will include 102 apartments and 70 underground parking spaces. This project has been floating around for over a year, so the recent submission suggests this may finally start to move forward.
4. The historic corner building at 101 S. High Street was recently announced to be renovated into mixed-use. The 4-story building will have Heartland Bank take over the bottom floor with the top 3 floors being residential. No word on how many units it would be, but the renovation is expected to start later this year.
5. The Hills Market at 96 Grant Avenue finally opened a few weeks ago after long construction delays put off the original opening date by almost 4 months.
6. The Atlas building will finally begin its renovation and conversion to 186 apartments and ground-floor retail later this spring. Historic preservation credits were issued for the building at 8 E. Long Street earlier this year.
7. Renovation and expansion of the old Police HQ building at N. Ludlow and W. Gay is nearing completion. The building will allow consolidation of local offices from other buildings. The fate of the vacated buildings nearby remains unannounced.
8. The LeVeque Tower’s renovation and conversion to mixed-use continues. A hotel, offices and several dozen residential units are in the works once complete later in the year.
9. The Columbus Metropolitan Library Main Branch at S. Grant and E. Town Streets recently announced purchase and expansion plans for the adjacent old Deaf School. Construction should begin sometime this year.

Detailed lists of present, past and future Columbus development are included on the Development page.



Housing Market Update March 2013

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housing market update March 2013

This Columbus housing market update for March 2013 includes an expansion of data, specifically the time it takes for homes to sell on the current market.

Note: LSD= Local School District, CSD= City School District. In both cases, school district boundaries differ from city boundaries.

Top 15 Most Expensive Locations By Median Sales Price in March 2013
1. New Albany: $471,000
2. Dublin: $330,000
3. Powell: $317,000
4. New Albany Plain LSD: $316,000
5. Upper Arlington CSD: $302,450
6. Olentangy LSD: $291,250
7. Granville CSD: $282,050
8. Downtown: $269,000
9. German Village: $267,250
10. Dublin CSD: $266,500
11. Hilliard: $250,000
12. Big Walnut LSD: $245,000
13. Buckeye Valley LSD: $243,000
14. Johnstown Monroe LSD: $207,250
15. Bexley: $205,000

Top 15 Least Expensive Locations by Median Sales Price in March 2013
1. Whitehall: $45,250
2. Obetz: $56,450
3. Groveport Madison LSD: $63,625
4. Hamilton LSD: $66,750
5. Columbus CSD: $85,000
6. Lancaster CSD: $89,550
7. Newark CSD: $89,900
8. South-Western CSD: $100,000
9. Columbus: $103,250
10. Sunbury: $106,900
11. Reynoldsburg CSD: $115,000
12. Jefferson LSD: $122,000
13. Blacklick: $123,500
14. London CSD: $128,000
15. Grandview Heights: $136,000

Whitehall was the cheapest market yet again, though its median prices have been going up slowly.

Overall Market Median Sales Price in March 2013: $139,028

Top 15 Locations with the Highest Median Sales Price % Growth Between March 2012 and March 2013
1. Minerva Park: +223.8%
2. Jonathan Alder LSD: +99.0%
3. Circleville CSD: +63.3%
4. Buckeye Valley LSD: +59.3%
5. Johnstown Monroe LSD: +53.5%
6. Reynoldsburg CSD: +47.4%
7. Hilliard: +47.1%
8. Downtown: +34.6%
9. Big Walnut LSD: +31.5%
10. Westerville CSD: +28.3%
11. Powell: +28.1%
12. Gahanna: +22.0%
13. Olentangy LSD: +18.4%
14. Marysville CSd: +14.8%
15. Worthington: +13.9%

Downtown continued to do well, but otherwise few places inside 270 did.

Top 15 Locations with the Lowest Median Sales Price % Growth Between March 2012 and March 2013
1. Grandview Heights: -43.7%
2. Sunbury: -42.6%
3. Obetz: -29.3%
4. Whitehall: -24.3%
5. Bexley: -21.1%
6. Lithopolis: -20.1%
7. Hamilton LSD: -15.8%
8. Blacklick: -12.0%
9. Pataskala: -9.2%
10. Delaware CSD: -5.3%
11. Gahanna Jefferson CSD: -5.1%
12. Beechwold/Clintonville: -4.1%
13. South-Western CSD: -2.9%
14. London CSD: -1.9%
15. Columbus CSD: -1.0%

Overall Market Median Sales Price % Change March 2012 vs. March 2013: +9.9%

Top 10 Locations with the Most New Listings in March 2013
1. Columbus: 1,309
2. Columbus CSD: 811
3. South-Western CSD: 221
4. Olentangy LSD: 197
5. Hilliard CSD: 195
6. Westerville CSD: 185
7. Dublin CSD: 140
8. Pickerington LSD: 100
9. Worthington CSD: 97
10. Dublin: 93

Top 10 Locations with the Fewest New Listings in March 2013
1. Valleyview: 1
2. Lithopolis: 2
3. Minerva Park: 4
4. Jefferson LSD: 6
5. Johnstown Monroe LSD: 8
6. Jonathan Alder LSD: 9
7. Obetz: 10
8. Hamilton LSD: 13
9. Grandview Heights: 14
10. Sunbury: 17
11. Circleville CSD: 17

Total New Listings in the Columbus Metro in March 2013: 3,222
Overall Metro New Listings % Change March 2012-March 2013: +0.2%

Prices were up almost 10% year over year for the month despite a small increase in overall supply.

Top 10 Fastest-Selling Locations by # of Days Homes Remain on the Market Before Sale in March 2013
1. Minerva Park: 3
2. Worthington: 29
3. Granville CSD: 35
4. Jonathan Alder LSD: 36
5. Upper Arlington CSD: 51
6. Downtown: 54
7. Pickerington: 54
8. Pickerington LSD: 60
9. Dublin CSD: 61
10. Grandview Heights: 63
11. Groveport Madison LSD: 63
12. Reynoldsburg CSD: 63
13. South-Western CSD: 63
14. Grove City: 65
15. Powell: 65

Top 10 Slowest-Selling Locations by # of Days Homes Remain on the Market Before Sale in March 2013
1. Bexley: 188
2. Circleville CSD: 168
3. Sunbury: 163
4. Lancaster CSD: 140
5. Big Walnut LSD: 129
6. Hilliard: 125
7. Lithopolis: 121
8. Newark CSD: 120
9. Obetz: 119
10. Gahanna: 117

The Columbus Realtors provides market condition reports going back many years.



2013 Ohio Metro Area Population Estimates

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2013 Ohio metro area population estimates

The US Census released the latest population estimates for metropolitan/micropolitan areas as well as counties for the year July 1, 2012 to July 1, 2013. Here is what they found for Columbus and Ohio metros.

2013 Metro Population, Highest to Lowest
1. Cincinnati: 2,137,406
2. Cleveland: 2,064,725
3. Columbus: 1,967,066
4. Dayton: 802,489
5. Akron: 705,686
6. Toledo: 608,145
7. Youngstown: 555,506
8. Canton: 403,707
9. Springfield: 136,167
10. Mansfield: 121,773
11. Lima: 105,298

2012-2013 Total Population Change, Highest to Lowest
1. Columbus: +22,129
2. Cincinnati: +8,097
3. Akron: +729
4. Canton: +28
5. Cleveland: -14
6. Lima: -31
7. Springfield: -268
8. Toledo: -336
9. Dayton: -696
10. Mansfield: -812
11. Youngstown: -2,989

Columbus leads the pack, and by a lot. Some interesting notes about these numbers is that half of the 8 major metros are growing. Also of significance is that Cleveland barely lost at all, which may indicate that the losses there are slowing down.

Now let’s take a look at where the population changes for these metros are coming from.

Total Metro Births, 2012-2013, Highest to Lowest
1. Cincinnati: +27,366
2. Columbus: +26,464
3. Cleveland: +23,204
4. Dayton: +9,407
5. Akron: +7,548
6. Toledo: +7,198
7. Youngstown: +5,459
8. Canton: +4,349
9. Springfield: +1,577
10. Mansfield: +1,362
11. Lima: +1,245

Total Metro Deaths, 2012-2013, Highest to Lowest
1. Cleveland: -20,326
2. Cincinnati: -18,365
3. Columbus: -14,765
4. Dayton: -7,812
5. Akron: -6,784
6. Youngstown: -6,781
7. Toledo: -5,700
8. Canton: -4,119
9. Springfield: -1,612
10. Mansfield: -1,289
11. Lima: -1,045

Total Metro Natural Growth (Births vs. Deaths), 2012-2013, Highest to Lowest
1. Columbus: +11,699
2. Cincinnati: +9,001
3. Cleveland: +2,878
4. Dayton: +1,595
5. Toledo: +1,498
6. Akron: +764
7. Canton: +230
8. Lima: +200
9. Mansfield: +73
10. Springfield: -35
11. Youngstown: -1,322

Natural growth is a vital part of the growth picture for any place. For Columbus, it is roughly 50% of it’s total annual growth. For places like Youngstown, with more deaths than births, it just contributes to overall decline.

Total Metro Domestic Migration, 2012-2013, Highest to Lowest
1. Columbus: +5,749
2. Canton: -275
3. Lima: -308
4. Springfield: -343
5. Mansfield: -943
6. Akron: -1,011
7. Youngstown: -1,691
8. Toledo: -2,575
9. Dayton: -3,415
10. Cincinnati: -3,894
11. Cleveland: -5,581

Total Metro International Migration, 2012-2013, Highest to Lowest
1. Columbus: +4,689
2. Cleveland: +3,698
3. Cincinnati: +3,326
4. Dayton: +1,148
5. Akron: +1,051
6. Toledo: +674
7. Canton: +261
8. Youngstown: +185
9. Springfield: +78
10. Lima: +75
11. Mansfield: +23

Total Metro Migration, 2012-2013, Highest to Lowest
1. Columbus: +10,438
2. Akron: +40
3. Canton: -14
4. Lima: -233
5. Springfield: -265
6. Cincinnati: -568
7. Mansfield: -920
8. Youngstown: -1,506
9. Cleveland: -1,883
10. Toledo: -1,901
11. Dayton: -2,267

The 2nd most important part of the growth rate, migration, is also pretty bad for most metros. Only Columbus is seeing a decent rate of growth, particularly domestically.

One final question is… how are these metro growth rates changing over time? That’s a bit harder to answer, as metro boundaries change so often that it’s more difficult to determine comparable rates decade to decade. However, this is what I came up with.

Average Annual Metro Growth By Decade
Akron
1970s: -1,891
1980s: -275
1990s: +3,739
2000s: +824
2010s: +622
Cincinnati
1970s: +6,119
1980s: +9,111
1990s: +16,474
2000s: +12,052
2010s: +7,609
Cleveland
1970s: -15,108
1980s: -8,090
1990s: +4,624
2000s: -7,090
2010s: -4,172
Columbus
1970s: +9,953
1980s: +13,487
1990s: +20,752
2000s: +22,384
2010s: +21,697
Dayton
1970s: -2,246
1980s: +1,377
1990s: +432
2000s: -665
2010s: +1,089
Lima
1970s: +110
1980s: -249
1990s: -128
2000s: -214
2010s: -337
Mansfield
1970s: +121
1980s: -509
1990s: -272
2000s: -438
2010s: -901
Springfield
1970s: -688
1980s: -270
1990s: -280
2000s: -641
2010s: -722
Toledo
1970s: +1,350
1980s: -278
1990s: +503
2000s: -776
2010s: -619
Youngstown
1970s: -470
1980s: -4,605
1990s: -1,064
2000s: -3,719
2010s: -3,422

Some improved, especially the larger metros. Smaller ones tended to do worse over time.

For more information, click on the below links:
Metro Area Demographics
Columbus vs. Other Places
US Census



Before and After Franklinton

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*Some photos have been updated since the time of the original post.

Before: South Central Avenue, looking north, during the flood of January 21-24, 1959.
Before and After Franklinton
After: 2015

The 1959 flood was the 2nd worst in the history of Franklinton after the 1913 disaster. The Frank Road crest on the Scioto River came on January 22, 1959 and was 27.22 ft, 3.22 ft above flood stage and a few feet below the 1913 crest. This crest would not cause serious flooding in Franklinton today, as the Franklinton Floodwall, completed in 2004, will protect the area to crests of up to 30.9 ft. Few people know that, prior to the wall’s completion, federal guidelines prohibited almost all types of construction in Franklinton, a contributing factor in the gradual decline it faced after the 1950s.

Before: Bellows Avenue Elementary on Bellows Avenue in 1922.

After: 2017

Bellows Elementary was opened in 1905 and barely escaped destruction during the I-70/315 highway construction. The building remained a school through the 1970s before closing and being sold by the city in 1984. It has remained vacant since then. Recent proposals to turn it into apartments, particularly as Franklinton has begun a massive revitalization, and the building has received a new roof, so further deterioration has been stopped for now. The building, however, is threatened by possible demolition once the 70/71 split is reconstructed in sometime in the mid-2020s.

Before: The Columbus Heating and Ventilation Company building at 433 W. Town Street in 1916.

After: 2016

The Columbus Heating and Ventilating Company began in 1903 and still exists in the city, although obviously not at its original location. It later served as factories and parts of the complex were even used to enrich uranium for the Manhattan Project. The old building eventually went into severe disrepair and most of the roof had collapsed by the time it was demolished in 2011 as one of the first steps in the area’s rebirth. Multiple redevelopment plans have come and gone for the site, but so far, nothing has come of them.

Before: Mt. Carmel Hospital, looking southwest on Davis, in 1909.

After: 2018

Mt. Carmel was originally known as Hawkes Hospital. The first section was completed in 1886, with later expansions in 1891 and 1908. Eventually, the old structures were deemed outdated for modern hospital purposes, and the entire complex was demolished in the late 1940s. Today, the site is very different, with the current buildings built on top of the old Davis and State Street intersection. The hospital moved most services to a new location in Grove City in recent years, with plans to demolish part of the complex to create a new mixed-use development.

For thousands more before and after photos from all parts of the city, click here:
Historic Building Database