Columbus—Ohio’s capital—is located in the heart of the Buckeye State and is one of the nation\’s fastest growing metropolitan areas. The community offers residents a variety of cultural, entertainment, and educational opportunities. And with a rock bottom unemployment rate, jobs in Greater Columbus are plentiful. The arts and cultural amenities of Columbus rival those found in other major cities across the United States.
Residents enjoy an abundance of galleries and performance space, exciting downtown festivals, professional sports, and world-class restaurants. Named after discoverer Christopher Columbus, Ohio\’s capital city encompasses a six county metropolitan area and covers 3,142 square miles. Surrounded on all sides by fields full of soybeans, corn and wheat and small farm towns with names like Pataskala and Bucyrus, as well as home to Ohio State University.
Economy
Columbus is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and economic vitality. The city is home to the Chemical Abstracts Service, making it one of the world\’s leading centers for scientific information distribution, and to the Battelle Memorial Institute, a major research and development facility. Nationwide Insurance makes its home downtown in a large, multi-building complex that dominates the northern end of the downtown area. Cardinal Health has its headquarters in the northwest suburb of Dublin. Huntington Bancshares has its headquarters in the downtown area. Bank One was formerly headquartered in Columbus prior to the merger with First Chicago-NBD, and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. continues to maintain a major presence in Columbus, with a large mortgage servicing unit in the city, after purchasing Bank One in 2004. Commerce National Bank is headquartered in Columbus near the Ohio State University campus. CompuServe still has its roots in Columbus, although it has been owned by AOL since 1998. McGraw-Hill Inc. has large offices within Columbus as well. In addition, Sterling Commerce a B2B software company has its headquarters in the Northwest suburb of Dublin. Qwest, a major telecom provider has offices in the Northwest suburb of Dublin. UPS has a large distribution center on the west side of the city.
A strategic business advantage of Greater Columbus is its lower tax structure. When compared to similar-sized cities in the Midwest and South, Greater Columbus has one of the lowest sales tax rates between 5.75 and 6.25 percent. This rate is far more competitive than Midwestern cities such as Cleveland (7 percent) and Chicago (8.75 percent) and Southern cities such as Nashville (8.25 percent) and Memphis (8.25 percent).
In addition, Columbus is on a level playing field with other cities for city and state income tax. Columbus has a city income tax of 2 percent which is the same as Cleveland and less than Cincinnati’s 2.1 percent. Ohio\’s state income tax averages 3.9 percent which is more competitive than Charlotte\’s 7.75 percent state income tax and competitive with Indianapolis\’ state income tax of 3.4 percent.
Housing
Four bedrooms, big yard and small payments. Sound impossible? Not in Greater Columbus. The average mortgage payment in Greater Columbus is just $800 month–one of the lowest among America\’s top cities. Where else can you buy a four bedroom, two-and-a-half bath, suburban home for $150,000 with an annual property tax of only $1,550? Or how about a 4,000 square foot, executive home on a golf course for $400,000? Or a luxury high-rise condominium with valet parking for less than $100,000? No matter what type of home you\’re looking for, you\’ll find that it\’s affordable in Greater Columbus. And if you\’re a renter, you can choose from luxury suburban townhomes and ultra-trendy warehouse lofts–all at remarkably low rents. In fact, in comparison with the top 25 cities, Columbus ranks among the lowest in rents– $495 a month for a two-bedroom apartment.
[insert_php]
$market = “COL” ;
global $market ;
[/insert_php]
[insert_php]
$market = “COL” ;
[/insert_php]