I posted a graph recently showing housing permits for Franklin County to show how construction was trending. Today, I found more long-term data for both the city and county that continue to show some interesting Columbus housing trends. All data comes from the Building Permits Survey.
First, let’s look at just the city of Columbus. The chart above goes back through the mid-1990s. The first thing to notice is the housing boom from 1999-2002. Both single-family and multi-family construction was booming. The very good economic conditions, or seemingly good ones, during the 1999-2000 period is probably most responsible for this. What’s most interesting is that the boom seemed to last through at least part of the mild recession experienced in 2001-2002. After that, housing of both types started to decline through the late 2000s. This shows that construction in the city began to decline as early as 2002-2003, before the peak of the general housing boom in the mid-2000s.
Another interesting fact is at the end of the period. Multi-family units have recovered and are back in boom territory. This boom, however, is much different than the one that occurred more than a decade ago, as shown by the below chart. During the 1999-2002 housing boom, multi-family housing averaged 59.3% of all the units constructed. In the current boom, which began in 2012, multi-family housing has averaged 82.1% of all the units constructed. The average difference between the types 1999-2002 was just 18.6 points. In the current boom, the difference is an amazing 64.2 points! In that regard, there really is no comparison between the housing boom a decade ago and the current one. Multi-family construction is in MUCH higher relative demand now than it was at any time in the last 17-18 years, including during the last housing boom.
But what does this tell us about where the housing is actually being constructed? Well, for that, we have to look at the entirety of Franklin County. Is the county also seeing a similar multi-family boom, or has single-family construction recovered there more than in the city? This chart, in some aspects, is the opposite of the one for the city. While in the city, multi-family units consistently outnumbered single-family, the opposite is true for the county as a whole. This is likely because the county takes into account all the suburban areas, most of which are dominated by single-family housing. In only a few instances did multi-family housing units outnumber single-family before 2010. After 2010, it’s clear that the multi-family boom is hitting the rest of the county and not just Columbus itself. This may actually represent an even greater shift in housing construction.
Here’s the % of total chart for the county. So it’s also clear that the county is seeing most of its construction in recent years be multi-family units.
But this still doesn’t tell us if most of Franklin County’s housing construction is occurring in the city or in the suburbs. The easiest way to tell is to take the city totals and find out the % of total to the overall county. Not much can be taken from this chart, however. Columbus encompasses the largest part of Franklin County by far, so it has always included most of the county’s construction. Perhaps a better way to look at it would be to measure the city’s total against the overall metro share, but that’s for another day.
Today, the Census released new population figures for cities and incorporated places. I looked at all those places within the Columbus metro area and came up with the following stats on 2013 city population estimates.
So by the trends, it definitely appears that most suburbs have slowed, while Columbus and its inner suburbs increased. This seems like a pretty good indication of the ongoing urban movement to me.
In a related post to the recent metro population comparison of Columbus to its peer 1.5-2.5 million group, I wanted to see where the metros stood as far as their current racial makeup as well as where they are trending. So here are the current Columbus metro diversity trends, along with 17 other peer metros, according to the US Census.
First, let’s take a look at the breakdown of race by metro in 2012, the last year that data is available.
Columbus had the 5th highest % of its metro population as White, non-Hispanic. Columbus came in at #8 for the % of its metro population being Black, non Hispanic. Columbus ranks 9th for its % of metro population that is Asian, non-Hispanic. Columbus ranked poorly in this group, coming in at 15th of 18. Finally, Columbus ranked 7th in the population of Other, non-Hispanic as a % of the total metro population.
So currently, what is the overall diversity ranking of the 18 metros? To find out, I used a simple formula: Each metro would be assigned points (1-18) based on the ranking position in each racial group. Here are the final rankings. Overall, Columbus comes in as the 8th most-diverse metro in its 18-peer group. So a bit better than average and perhaps a bit surprising to some.
But what about where this diversity is trending? To find out, I looked at 2005 and 2012 and calculated how each racial group had changed over the period. Columbus did relatively well with Non-Hispanic Whites, growing at the 5th best pace. The Columbus metro came in the top 10, at #7, for Non-Hispanic Black population growth. The metro didn’t fare as well on growth in the Asian population, coming in at 10th. Columbus came in at #6 for this group. So using the same point system from above, what were the fastest diversifying metros as of 2012?
The Columbus metro was the 5th fastest diversifying metro in its peer group in 2012.
Overall, Columbus ranks higher than and much higher than average in both current racial diversity and the rate of racial diversity growth, respectively. The Columbus vs. Other Cities page examines many types of similar population and demographic comparisons.
For a good portion of the US, the winter of 2013-2014 was one of the worst, if not the worst, in recent memory. Cold and snow hit early in the season and didn’t let up until the first half of March. Now that April is behind us (the last month that snow typically might fall during a season), we can take a look back at the Winter 2013-2014 Review.
A Look Back at Snowfall For many in Central Ohio, winter provided its first taste on October 23rd, when a cold front briefly changed rain to a wet snow that coated car tops. This was merely a prelude to what would come.
2013-14 Winter Snowfall vs. Normal
November Notable Snow Events November 11-12th, 2013: This was the first real accumulating snowfall of the season, dropping a general 1″-2″ across the area. The highest total in Franklin County was 2″ reported just southeast of Clintonville. A map of the event can be found here.
November 26th-27th, 2013: The months 2nd and larger event occurred towards the end of the month, and dropped 1″-4″ across the county, with the higher totals on the east side of Columbus. A map of the event can be found here. The November total of 4.7″, while not anywhere near record breaking, was a top 20 snowiest, coming in at #14. November 2013 was also the snowiest Columbus had seen since 1972, when 6.3″ fell.
December Notable Snow Events December 6th, 2013: This was the first major event of the season. A low pressure center brought rain to the area on the 5th. As temperatures cooled, rain gradually changed to freezing rain and then heavy snow, dropping 3″-6″ across the area. A map of this event can be found here.
December 10th, 2013: The second event of the month was a persistent band of snow that set up alon I-71. The cold air produced high ratios, dropping 1″-3″. http://www.erh.noaa.gov/iln/events/20131210/
December 14th, 2013: Rain changed to snow along and north of I-71. http://www.erh.noaa.gov/iln/events/20131214/ December’s 12.7″ total was 2 1/2x normal, and the first 10 days of the month were the snowiest on record. It also made the month the 8th snowiest December on record. Further, it was the 2nd consecutive above average December and the 5th since 2007 to be so.
January Notable Snow Events January 2nd, 2014: The new year started off as snowy as the previous ended, when a low pressure brought occasionally heavy snow and 3″-5″ across the city. http://www.erh.noaa.gov/iln/events/20140102/
January 25th-26th, 2014: The months’ signature event, a strong storm brough a mixed bag of precipitation, including heavy snow to parts of the city. As the storm passed, additional snow squalls developed into the 26th and brought occasional whiteout conditions. Columbus’ official 2-day total was 8.3″. A map of the event can be found here, though it only lists totals for the 25th:
All told, the 17.7″ of snow for the month was the 16th snowiest on record, and the 8.3″ snow event tied for the 10th largest January event since records began.
February Notable Snow Events February 4th-5th, 2014: A low pressure brought heavy snow and mixed precipitation to the area, and proved to be winter’s largest snow event with 6″-10″ across the city. The 10.6″ at Columbus was the largest storm of the winter, tied as the 3rd largest February snowstorm, and provided the 7th largest daily February snowfall. http://www.erh.noaa.gov/iln/events/20140205/
February 14th-15th, 2014: Valentines Day brought a storm that skimmed the area with 2″-4″, with much higher totals to the south. http://www.erh.noaa.gov/iln/events/20140215/ February’s 15.9″ of snow was the 6th snowiest on record.
March did not break any records or have any large events, but it was more or less a capping month to a winter that kept snowing.
April saw just one snow event, on the 15th, when half an inch to 1″ fell, ending the snowfall season.
So ultimately, 2013-2014’s 56.4″ of snow ranks it as the 3rd snowiest winter since records began in 1878. It was also the #1 snowiest meteorological winter (December-February) on record. The graph below shows the top 10 snowiest winters. Notice that 4 of the 10 have occurred since 2002, with 3 since 2007. Are we possibly entering a snowier period? That remains to be seen.
The recent Census release of updated population numbers gives new figures on metro populations. In previous articles, I talked mostly about density, so this time, the data is being expanded a bit for a full 2013 metro area comparison.
Metro Area Population on July 1, 2012 and July 1, 2013 By Rank 2012————————————–—-2013 1. Pittsburgh: 2,360,989— 1. Pittsburgh: 2,360,867 2. Charlotte: 2,294,990—2. Charlotte: 2,335,358 3. Portland, OR: 2,289,038—3. Portland, OR: 2,314,554 4. San Antonio, TX: 2,234,494—4. San Antonio, TX: 2,277,550 5. Orlando: 2,223,456—5. Orlando: 2,267,846 6. Sacramento, CA: 2,193,927—6. Sacramento, CA: 2,215,770 7. Cincinnati: 2,129,309—7. Cincinnati: 2,137,406 8. Cleveland: 2,064,739—8. Cleveland: 2,064,725 9. Kansas City: 2,038,690—9. Kansas City: 2,054,473 10. Las Vegas: 1,997,659—10. Las Vegas: 2,027,868 11. Columbus: 1,944,937—11. Columbus: 1,967,066 12. Indianapolis: 1,929,207—12. Indianapolis: 1,953,961 13. San Jose, CA: 1,892,894—13. San Jose, CA: 1,919,641 14. Austin, TX: 1,835,110— 14. Austin, TX: 1,883,051 15. Nashville: 1,726,759—15. Nashville: 1,757,912 16. Virginia Beach, VA: 1,698,410—16. Virginia Beach, VA: 1,707,369 17. Providence, RI: 1,601,160—17. Providence, RI: 1,604,291 18. Milwaukee: 1,566,182—18. Milwaukee: 1,569,659
Total Metro Population Change, 2012-2013, By Rank 1. Austin: +47,941 2. Orlando: +44,390 3. San Antonio: +43,056 4. Charlotte: +40,368 5. Nashville: +31,153 6. Las Vegas: +30,209 7. San Jose: +26,747 8. Portland: +25,516 9. Indianapolis: +24,754 10. Columbus: +22,129 11. Sacramento: +21,843 12. Kansas City: +15,783 13. Virginia Beach: +8,959 14. Cincinnati: +8,097 15. Milwaukee: +3,477 16. Providence: +3,131 17. Cleveland: -14 18. Pittsburgh: -122
**Some of the changes in rates are due to boundary changes. For example, part of the growth rate for Columbus 2000-2010 was a retroactive population addition when boundaries were changed in 2013. The actual growth rate changed very little.
