Worthington, Ohio

Area Profile

14,938 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Worthington, in Franklin 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 3% of 4,199 cities measured84
SchoolsTop 23% of 4,162 cities measured71
Growth3,875th of 4,224 cities measured24
Housing affordabilityTop 24% of 4,218 cities measured75
Climate2,893rd of 4,225 cities measured64
Physical resilienceTop 28% of 4,226 cities measured77
AccessTop 16% of 4,226 cities measured99
Economic stabilityTop 4% of 4,226 cities measured80
The quick read

Worthington ranks in the top 3% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.2% and median household income of $127,382. The unemployment rate is published for Franklin County, OH, which contains Worthington, rather than for Worthington alone.

In the public schools here, 72% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.4 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 1 units authorized over the past twelve months, against 2 the year before.

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
14,938
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$127,382
Top 8% nationally
Density
2,729/sq mi
5.5 sq mi of land
Median age
43.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Ohio
Metro area
Nearest major airport
CMH
10 mi · John Glenn Columbus Intl
Median home value
$440,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Franklin County, OH, which contains Worthington, is 3.2%, lower than in 89% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Franklin County, OH, which contains Worthington, fell 0.3% over the past year, to 709,615 employed residents.

73% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 97% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $127,382 is higher than in 92% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsFranklin County, OH’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$59,94427th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftFranklin County, OH’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$76,01257th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$10,9372024 ACS 5-Year$127,382Top 8%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$6,0532024 ACS 5-Year$70,806Top 6%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year3.3%Top 16%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.0 minTop 26%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year72.6%Top 3%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year71.8%33rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentFranklin County, OH’s figureJuly 2026709,615Top 10%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Franklin County, OH’s figureJuly 2026+2.3%Top 18%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Franklin County, OH’s figureJuly 2026−0.3%Top 41%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceFranklin County, OH’s figureJuly 2026733,35190th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year87.7%Top 16%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 ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Franklin County, OH’s figureJuly 2026−1.4%Top 4%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateFranklin County, OH’s figureJuly 20263.2%Top 11%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year22.9%89th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024127k114k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $127,382 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 Franklin County, OH, which contains this city.

72% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 74% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.4 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
10
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
71.9%
Top 20% in Ohio
Reading proficiency
74.3%
Top 24% in Ohio
All 10 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Thomas Worthington High SchoolWorthington City1,71217.561%74%
Worthingway Middle SchoolWorthington City64014.973%66%
Worthington Estates Elementary SchoolWorthington City55519.178%72%
Perry Middle SchoolWorthington City52813.2——
Evening Street Elementary SchoolWorthington City49018.189%94%
Slate Hill Elementary SchoolWorthington City47918.470%69%
Kilbourne Middle SchoolWorthington City46414.579%77%
Wilson Hill Elementary SchoolWorthington City44817.972%72%
Colonial Hills Elementary SchoolWorthington City37116.174%70%
Phoenix Middle SchoolWorthington City15411.092%82%

30.3% 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 $7,785 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.77% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,581, some 28% above the $1,232 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,581 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $63,200 a year, about 50% of the median household income here of $127,382.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,232 a month.

A median home at $440,500 costs 3.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $146,912, 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
28.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,581
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,232
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$440,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Worthington’s median household income of $127,382, 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-Year3.0Bottom 35%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year82.6%64th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2712024 ACS 5-Year6,40691st percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,318Top 46%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,893Top 38%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,581Top 45%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1672024 ACS 5-Year$1,232Bottom 30%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$11,9682024 ACS 5-Year$440,50085th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$3852024 ACS 5-Year$7,78597th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$13,0122024 ACS 5-Year$146,912Top 7%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.10%2024 ACS 5-Year1.77%87th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year28.8%Bottom 47%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±352024 ACS 5-Year2976th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%56th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.7%31st percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1152024 ACS 5-Year26382nd 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

24/ 100
Ranks 3,875 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 fallen 1% since 2020, to 14,649 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 1 units authorized in 2025, against 6 the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 1 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Franklin County, which contains Worthington, lost about 0.9% 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 $59,944, below the $76,012 of households that moved out.

At 0.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
1
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.1
Bottom 5% nationally
Year over year
−50%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202415k15k
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 holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.9%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
47%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$59,944
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$76,012
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Delaware County, OH 4,187 people · 8.6% of arrivals
  2. Fairfield County, OH 3,219 people · 6.6% of arrivals
  3. Licking County, OH 2,621 people · 5.4% of arrivals
  4. Cuyahoga County, OH 1,365 people · 2.8% of arrivals
  5. Montgomery County, OH 967 people · 2.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Delaware County, OH 7,675 people · 13% of departures
  2. Fairfield County, OH 5,116 people · 8.8% of departures
  3. Licking County, OH 3,838 people · 6.6% of departures
  4. Union County, OH 2,097 people · 3.6% of departures
  5. Pickaway County, OH 1,795 people · 3.1% 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 Franklin County, OH. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025870.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 21°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 35.8 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 53, in the Moderate band, and about 4 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station COLUMBUS OHIO STATE UNIV AP, 3.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year722024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals35.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals21°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year42024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year532024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
53
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
72
90th percentile index
Days above 100
4
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

77 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 63% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave 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 72% of measured US cities.

HailModerate
TornadoModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, heat wave, inland flooding, winter weather, strong wind, lightning, earthquake, ice storm, landslide, drought, hurricane, wildfire, avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

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
130
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,177
per 100,000 residents · 2025 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.

Worthington's police department reported 130 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,177.

Franklin County records 7.3 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 13.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 24.0 per 100,000 residents in Franklin County.

Homicide
7.3
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.4
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
24.0
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
14.8
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 Worthington’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 Worthington (Franklin County) rather than Worthington 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

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest John Glenn Columbus Intl at 10 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year93.4%Top 32%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle10 miTop 26%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year5.4%Top 39%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
John Glenn Columbus IntlCMH10 mi10,114 ft
Rickenbacker IntlLCK20 mi11,902 ft
Mansfield Lahm RgnlMFD57 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 Worthington
NewarkLicking County50,78364Newark vs Worthington
DublinFranklin County49,29477Dublin vs Worthington
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 Worthington side by side with a similar place.

Worthington vs Lake ZurichWorthington vs Upper Arlington

Moving to Worthington 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
2025 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 Worthington

1 ZIP area

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

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4308526,601$112,517$407,10070