OH · Franklin County · 905,748 (2020) · 14th-largest US city · state capital
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus stands at the meeting of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers in the geographic centre of Ohio. It is the state capital, the largest city in Ohio and the fourteenth-largest in the United States.
- State
- Ohio
- County
- Franklin County (parts in Delaware and Fairfield)
- Population (2020)
- 905,748
- Rank
- 14th in the US
- Coordinates
- 39.96°N, 83.00°W
- Time zone
- Eastern
- Metro area
- about 2.1 million
- State capital
- Yes – capital of Ohio
Where Columbus is
Columbus is at 39.96°N, 83.00°W in Franklin County, of which it is the county seat, with parts extending into Delaware County to the north and Fairfield County to the southeast. The city covers about 225 square miles of level till plain at roughly 900 feet above sea level. It was laid out in 1812 on the high east bank of the Scioto River specifically to be a capital near the centre of the state; Cleveland is 140 miles northeast on Lake Erie and Cincinnati 105 miles southwest on the Ohio River. The city is ringed by the Interstate 270 beltway and has grown mostly by annexation into surrounding townships.
Population and rank
The 2020 Census counted 905,748 residents, ranking Columbus 14th in the US and making it the largest city in Ohio — ahead of Cleveland by more than half a million within city limits. Columbus passed Cleveland in the 1990 count and has grown every decade since, adding about 118,000 people between 2010 and 2020. The Columbus metropolitan area (10 counties) has about 2.1 million people, roughly equal to the Cleveland metro and the fastest-growing in the state. Columbus is the third most populous state capital after Phoenix and Austin.
Geography
- Scioto River — flows south through downtown to join the Ohio River at Portsmouth, 90 miles away; the downtown reach was narrowed and re-landscaped in 2015.
- Olentangy River — joins the Scioto just north of downtown after passing the Ohio State campus.
- Big Walnut and Alum creeks — drain the east side; Hoover Reservoir on Big Walnut Creek supplies city water.
- Terrain — glaciated plain with little relief; the highest ground in the county is about 1,100 feet. The unglaciated Appalachian foothills begin 40 miles east and southeast.
Nearest large cities
Cincinnati and Cleveland, Ohio's other two large metros, are each within two and a half hours. Distances are approximate road miles from the Statehouse.
| City | State | Road distance (mi) | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | OH | 140 | NE |
| Pittsburgh | PA | 185 | E |
| Indianapolis | IN | 175 | W |
| Louisville | KY | 210 | SW |
| Detroit | MI | 200 | N |
Columbus as state capital
Columbus was founded in 1812 for the express purpose of being Ohio's capital, replacing Chillicothe (and briefly Zanesville) with a site near the centre of the state; the legislature first met here in 1816. The Greek Revival Statehouse on Capitol Square was completed in 1861. Columbus is one of the few capitals that is also its state's largest city. See the Columbus capital page for the capitol and the history of the earlier capitals.
Related maps
- Ohio map — the state with its 88 counties.
- Columbus, state capital — capital facts and history.
- US cities map.
- Ohio River and Great Lakes maps.
- Nearby cities: Cleveland, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh.
- East North Central division · Eastern Time Zone.