Pataskala, Ohio

Area Profile

18,223 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Pataskala, in Licking County.

70out of 100
Area Score
Top 14% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 17% of 4,199 cities measured74
SchoolsTop 45% of 4,162 cities measured53
Growth2,116th of 4,224 cities measured50
Housing affordabilityTop 16% of 4,218 cities measured78
Climate2,435th of 4,225 cities measured68
Physical resilienceTop 23% of 4,226 cities measured80
AccessTop 9% of 4,226 cities measured99
Economic stabilityTop 25% of 4,226 cities measured70
The quick read

Pataskala ranks in the top 17% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.3% and median household income of $92,033. The unemployment rate is published for Licking County, OH, which contains Pataskala, rather than for Pataskala alone.

In the public schools here, 64% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 19.7 students for every teacher.

172 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 9% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Licking County, OH, which contains Pataskala, rather than for Pataskala alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
18,223
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$92,033
Top 23% nationally
Density
629/sq mi
29 sq mi of land
Median age
37.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Ohio
Metro area
Nearest major airport
CMH
9 mi · John Glenn Columbus Intl
Median home value
$314,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Licking County, OH, which contains Pataskala, is 3.3%, lower than in 87% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Licking County, OH, which contains Pataskala, fell 0.5% over the past year, to 89,627 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsLicking County, OH’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$66,99241st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftLicking County, OH’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$65,35736th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,3792024 ACS 5-Year$92,033Top 23%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,3412024 ACS 5-Year$44,093Top 25%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year6.2%Top 30%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.7 minBottom 40%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year29.2%Top 32%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year68.5%25th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentLicking County, OH’s figureJuly 202689,627Top 44%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Licking County, OH’s figureJuly 2026+1.4%Top 26%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Licking County, OH’s figureJuly 2026−0.5%Top 44%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceLicking County, OH’s figureJuly 202692,63856th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year82.4%Top 34%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageColumbus, OH Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$67,270Bottom 45%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageColumbus, OH Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$51,340Top 49%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%78th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Licking County, OH’s figureJuly 2026−1.3%Top 5%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateLicking County, OH’s figureJuly 20263.3%Top 13%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year18.8%84th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202492k80k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $92,033 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Columbus, OH

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers31,590$28,670
Registered Nurses30,510$83,900
Stockers and Order Fillers30,130$39,040
General and Operations Managers29,070$102,590
Home Health and Personal Care Aides27,580$34,880
Retail Salespersons26,850$33,780

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Licking County, OH, which contains this city.

64% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 71% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 19.7 students for every full-time teacher across 12 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
19.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
64.1%
Top 44% in Ohio
Reading proficiency
70.8%
Top 32% in Ohio
The 12 largest public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Licking Heights High SchoolLicking Heights Local1,42821.346%68%
Watkins Memorial High SchoolSouthwest Licking Local1,39722.261%84%
Watkins Middle SchoolSouthwest Licking Local1,14719.871%66%
Summit Station IntermediateLicking Heights Local83617.871%76%
Licking Heights Middle SchoolLicking Heights Local82019.564%58%
Watkins Intermediate SchoolSouthwest Licking Local80121.175%69%
Lima Ridge ElementaryLicking Heights Local74517.3——
Broad Peak ElementaryLicking Heights Local55018.368%66%
Etna ElementarySouthwest Licking Local51116.5——
Pataskala Elementary SchoolSouthwest Licking Local45716.976%73%
Pathfinders PreschoolLicking Heights Local17128.5——
Southwest Licking Early Learning CenterSouthwest Licking Local16824.0——

47.8% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Ohio’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 5% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 94.6, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Columbus, OH Metro Area is up 46% over five years, and up 3.3% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,163 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.32% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,550, some 12% above the $1,387 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,550 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $62,000 a year, about 67% of the median household income here of $92,033.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,387 a month.

A median home at $314,500 costs 2.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $114,892, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
94.6

Prices here run about 5% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Columbus, OH Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
27.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,550
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,387
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$314,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Pataskala’s median household income of $92,033, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Columbus, OH Metro Area’s figure202394.6Top 24%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Columbus, OH Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.3%52nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Columbus, OH Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+46.1%66th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Columbus, OH Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+110.5%78th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.7Bottom 42%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year72.1%42nd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3042024 ACS 5-Year7,16592nd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,290Top 44%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,860Top 36%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,550Top 44%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1482024 ACS 5-Year$1,387Bottom 23%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$15,2032024 ACS 5-Year$314,50074th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2042024 ACS 5-Year$4,16384th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$9,7182024 ACS 5-Year$114,892Top 18%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.09%2024 ACS 5-Year1.32%70th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year27.4%Top 44%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±632024 ACS 5-Year4381st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%58th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.8%25th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1322024 ACS 5-Year24581st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

50/ 100
Ranks 2,116 of 4,224 published city profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 3% since 2020, reaching 18,493 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 18,493 residents in 2024, up 0.6% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 172 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Licking County, OH, which contains Pataskala, rather than for Pataskala alone.

Federal tax returns show Licking County, which contains Pataskala, gained about 0.5% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $66,992, close to the $65,357 of households that moved out.

At 0.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Licking County, OH, which contains Pataskala, rather than for Pataskala alone.

Units permitted
172
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.9
Bottom 24% nationally
Year over year
+9%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202418k18k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
22%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$66,992
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$65,357
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Franklin County, OH 3,838 people · 44% of arrivals
  2. Fairfield County, OH 798 people · 9.1% of arrivals
  3. Muskingum County, OH 359 people · 4.1% of arrivals
  4. Delaware County, OH 282 people · 3.2% of arrivals
  5. Knox County, OH 265 people · 3.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Franklin County, OH 2,621 people · 33% of departures
  2. Fairfield County, OH 801 people · 9.9% of departures
  3. Muskingum County, OH 470 people · 5.8% of departures
  4. Knox County, OH 377 people · 4.7% of departures
  5. Perry County, OH 303 people · 3.8% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Licking County, OH. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Pataskala, OH is not one. This is the figure for Licking County, OH, which contains this city.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 22°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 41.6 inches, including 28.2 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 42, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station COLUMBUS PORT COLUMBUS INTL AP, 8.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals41.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals28.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals22°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year422024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals46°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
42
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

80 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hail and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 68% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 77% of measured US cities.

HailElevated
Winter weatherModerate
Strong windModerate
Ice stormModerate
DroughtModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, inland flooding, lightning, heat wave, earthquake, tornado, wildfire, hurricane, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
77
per 100,000 residents · 2022 calendar year
Property crime
645
per 100,000 residents · 2022 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Pataskala's police department reported 77 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 645.

Licking County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.0 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 13.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 13.6 per 100,000 residents in Licking County.

Homicide
2.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
13.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
20.7
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Pataskala’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Pataskala (Licking County) rather than Pataskala itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest John Glenn Columbus Intl at 9 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year93.9%Top 30%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle9 miTop 24%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.0%Top 30%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
John Glenn Columbus IntlCMH9 mi10,114 ft
Rickenbacker IntlLCK18 mi11,902 ft
Mansfield Lahm RgnlMFD56 mi9,001 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
70
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Other cities in Columbus, OH

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
ColumbusFranklin County914,80265Columbus vs Pataskala
NewarkLicking County50,78364Newark vs Pataskala
DublinFranklin County49,29477Dublin vs Pataskala
DelawareDelaware County44,58976
Grove CityFranklin County42,51771
LancasterFairfield County41,24964
ReynoldsburgFranklin County41,22472
WestervilleFranklin County38,64572
HilliardFranklin County38,03376
Upper ArlingtonFranklin County36,29373
GahannaFranklin County35,48677
MarysvilleUnion County27,51874

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Pataskala side by side with a similar place.

Pataskala vs StreetsboroPataskala vs Jefferson Hills

Moving to Pataskala from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2022 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Pataskala

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Pataskala with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4306232,037$105,968$326,60071