Research

Franklin County is the most populous county in Ohio with a diverse population of 1.3 million residents. Today the county’s poverty rate (as defined by 2018 federal poverty level income numbers) is 16.7%, and it’s 29.9% for African Americans, and 25% for children. Additionally, research routinely demonstrates that the percentage of residents struggling financially is nearly twice the official poverty rate and that, despite a low official unemployment rate, the number of people in poverty has grown overall since 1970.

To highlight the challenges facing Franklin County regarding poverty, this planning effort reviewed a broad assortment of documents. Resources listed at the end of this section and in the appendix go into detail on many of the key data points. The incidence of poverty in Franklin County varies widely by geography and race.

New research conducted for this planning effort by the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University (Kirwan) analyzed the trends in poverty over time and its geographic and racial overlays. A full report with detailed maps is included as a compendium to this blueprint. The Steering Committee identified three critical conclusions from the review of this research:

  • Poverty has spread geographically across the county over time.
  • Concentrated poverty is persistent in specific neighborhoods.
  • Concentrated poverty is persistent in African American census tracts.

Kirwan's Franklin County Poverty Analysis(PDF, 19MB)

Maps

Persons in Poverty by Neighborhood Ranked

Category changes 1980 vs 2016

2016 Poverty Rates

2016 average net worth of 15-24-year-olds

2016 average net worth of 35-44-year-olds

2016 average net worth of 55-64-year-olds

Data

Estimated percentage of people living below the poverty level by race

Estimated percentage of people living below the poverty level in selected Columbus neighborhoods

Estimated percentage of people living below the poverty level in selected Central Ohio school districts

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