Like many cities in our series, Columbus, OH, has plenty of highly-rated public schools – they're just overwhelmingly found in the suburbs rather than Columbus proper. For Columbus, most of these highly-rated schools are found to the north and west.
While the northwest portion of the greater Columbus area has the highest-rated schools, it doesn't hold a monopoly on quality. Parents have lots of rental options.
With multiple areas to potentially live, we will use average property rent and school ratings to identify individual properties throughout the area that are our picks to provide the best value for each grade level.
Viewing school ratings by neighborhood allows us to find the areas with superb overall schools, rather than just identifying one-off instances of an individually exemplary school. The neighborhoods in the Columbus area are abnormally evenly rated, with an 8-way tie for best neighborhood. These top neighborhoods are found in a line that extends from Hilliard to the northeast.
| Neighborhood Rank | Neighborhood | Neighborhood City and State | Avg. School Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crown Ridge | Columbus, OH | 9.0 |
| 2 | Hayden Falls | Columbus, OH | 9.0 |
| 3 | Northwoods | Columbus, OH | 9.0 |
| 4 | Olentangy | Columbus, OH | 9.0 |
| 5 | Olentangy High Bluffs | Columbus, OH | 9.0 |
| 6 | Polaris | Columbus, OH | 9.0 |
| 7 | Polaris North | Columbus, OH | 9.0 |
| 8 | Polaris South | Columbus, OH | 9.0 |
| 9 | Mill Run | Columbus, OH | 8.5 |
| 10 | Scioto Trace | Columbus, OH | 8.5 |
Having looked at neighborhoods, we now look to find the best individual properties near the best schools at the elementary, middle and high school level. Click on any location circle in our interactive maps to pull up info on properties for that location.
| Value Rank | Property Name | Location | Avg. Rent | Avg. School Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pine Crossing Apartments | Columbus, OH | $740 | 9.0 |
| 2 | Hilliard Village | Columbus, OH | $800 | 9.0 |
| 3 | The Residences At Liberty Crossing | Columbus, OH | $925 | 10.0 |
| 4 | Northwoods | Columbus, OH | $949 | 10.0 |
| 5 | Pierpont Apartments | Westerville, OH | $764 | 8.0 |
| 6 | Lake's Edge by Cortland | Pickerington, OH | $771 | 8.0 |
| 7 | The Meadows Apartments | Pickerington, OH | $775 | 8.0 |
| 8 | Cabot Cove | Hilliard, OH | $884 | 9.0 |
| 9 | Tall Oaks Apartments | Columbus, OH | $595 | 6.0 |
| 10 | Ridgewood | Hilliard, OH | $809 | 8.0 |
| Value Rank | Property Name | Location | Avg. Rent | Avg. School Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ridgewood | Columbus, OH | $809 | 10.0 |
| 2 | Mulberry Apartments | Hilliard, OH | $814 | 10.0 |
| 3 | Copperleaf | Dublin, OH | $812 | 9.0 |
| 4 | Annhurst | Gahanna, OH | $820 | 9.0 |
| 5 | Village Gate Apartments | Reynoldsburg, OH | $843 | 9.0 |
| 6 | Scioto Commons | Dublin, OH | $848 | 9.0 |
| 7 | The Village at Appian Way | Gahanna, OH | $869 | 9.0 |
| 8 | Rosebrook Village | Reynoldsburg, OH | $783 | 8.0 |
| 9 | Hunters Ridge | Gahanna, OH | $812 | 8.0 |
| 10 | Madden's Pointe Apartments | Columbus, OH | $918 | 9.0 |
| Value Rank | Property Name | Location | Avg. Rent | Avg. School Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton Creek | Columbus, OH | $705 | 8.0 |
| 2 | The Ridge At Chestnut Hill | Columbus, OH | $919 | 10.0 |
| 3 | Pine Crossing Apartments | Columbus, OH | $740 | 8.0 |
| 4 | Pierpont Apartments | Westerville, OH | $764 | 8.0 |
| 5 | Cabot Cove | Hilliard, OH | $884 | 9.0 |
| 6 | Hilliard Village | Columbus, OH | $800 | 8.0 |
| 7 | Ridgewood | Columbus, OH | $809 | 8.0 |
| 8 | Mulberry Apartments | Hilliard, OH | $814 | 8.0 |
| 9 | Madden's Pointe Apartments | Columbus, OH | $918 | 9.0 |
| 10 | Residences at Northgate Crossing | Columbus, OH | $868 | 8.0 |
Jared is a Baton Rouge, La.-based freelance journalist focused on, in his words, "finding data, 'interviewing it' and then telling its story through interactive tools and traditional journalism." His past work includes analyzing pension shortfalls, looking at election results, tracking campaign finance contributions and analyzing educational and school system data. Some of his work has previously appeared on The Daily Advocate and unfundedmichigan.org.