It is the county seat of Franklin County, and its size has grown as it has annexed areas of Fairfield County and Delaware County. Named for explorer Christopher Columbus, the city was founded in 1812.
Metro Area and Population Density
Columbus is the core city of the Columbus Metropolitan Statistical Area, which spreads ten counties and is the third largest metropolitan area in the state, nearly tied with the Cleveland MSA and just behind the Cincinnati MSA. The Columbus metro area is the 28th largest in the country with a population of 2.4 million. The city proper has a population density of 3,625 people per square mile.
Recent Notable Rankings
Columbus was named as one of the top 50 cities in America in 2012 by BusinessWeek, and it was given an A rating by Forbes a year later as one of the top cities for business in the country. It was also recently named as one of the top cities to relocate in the country and the number 3 best city of the future.
Columbus Diversity and Religion
The most common ancestry groups in Columbus are German (19.4%), Irish (11.7%), English (7.9%), Polish (7.2%), and Italian (5.0%). While European immigration to Columbus has declined, the metropolitan area has seen great increases in African, Latin American and Asian immigration, particularly from China, Mexico, India, and Somalia. The city has a diverse Asian population, although the Hispanic community is mostly Mexican with a sizable Puerto Rican population. About 116,000 people in Columbus are foreign-born, which accounts for about 82% of new residents. 40% came from Asia, 23% from Africa, 22% from Latin America and 13% immigrated from Europe.
Columbus also has a large LGBT community of around 35,000. It was rated as one of the best cities in the U.S. for lesbians and gay people, as well as the most underrated gay city.
37.6% of Columbus residents report they are religious. Of this group, 15.7% are Protestant, 13.7% are Catholic, 1.5% are Jewish, 0.6% are Muslim and 0.5% are Mormon.
Columbus Population Growth
The Columbus area is currently leading Ohio in population growth, as it has been for several years, both in terms of a percentage share and absolute terms. While four northern Ohio counties ranked in the top 10 nationally for population decline in 2013, Columbus grew by 1.4%.