Research

Nationwide decline in housing affordability hits lower-income areas of Columbus

June 26, 2025

Columbus’s population and labor market have grown markedly faster than most of its midwestern peer cities over the past two decades.1 Over the 2010s, relatively favorable housing affordability contributed to the quality of life in the Columbus area and its attractiveness as a potential home for families and business—an outcome seen across other cities in Ohio.2 However, the national decline in housing affordability since the pandemic also hit Columbus. Like other cities, typical home prices have increased faster than incomes in the area. Additionally, higher interest rates are compounding the financial difficulties for people seeking to become first-time homeowners. In the following research focused on Columbus, we use unique data on income growth of 25-44-year-olds to highlight how the challenge of attaining homeownership is evolving for different parts of the metro area.

While the overall decline in housing affordability in Columbus is similar to many other U.S. cities, dynamics have varied markedly across the metro area. In particular, the gap in home prices between lower- and higher-income areas in Columbus was larger than it was in other mid-sized cities in Ohio and the national average, especially in the densely populated city center. Figure 1 captures Columbus’ 2019−2024 change in home prices relative to median growth in take-home pay for individuals of typical first-time homebuying age: those 25−44 years-old in 2019. It shows the extent to which income growth kept pace (or not) with home prices with breakouts along the urban-rural spectrum3 and by neighborhood income level. A map included at the end of the note depicts the rural, urban, and rural breakdown of the Columbus metro area.

Figure: Housing affordability changes across urban-rural and income spectrums show affordability worsening most in the lower-income urban center of Columbus. 

Figure 1, titled "2019 to 2024 HPI Growth for Columbus and other medium MSA," is captioned " Housing affordability changes across urban-rural and income spectrums show affordability worsening most in the lower-income urban center of Columbus." The y-axis says “Five-year average growth,” and the x-axis says “Metropolitan area size”. The figure presents three sets of bar charts, each representing different urban categories: Columbus, Ohio, other Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in Ohio, and MSAs with 1 to 5 million inhabitants; from left to right respectively. The three sets include two shaded bars for above and below median income ZIP codes for four geography types: urban cores, urban areas, suburbs, and exurbs/rural areas. The pairs of bars for each set are colored as follows, from left to right: dense urban cores (blue), urban areas (orange), suburbs (green), and exurbs/rural areas (purple). The dark shaded bar in each pair depicts above median income ZIP codes for that MSA group’s geography type, and the lightly shaded one below median income ZIP codes. Each set of bars shows the 5-year mean ZIP codes level Zillow home price growth with a normal shaded bar, and behind it, the ZIP codes level 5-year mean growth of age-adjusted median incomes for 25-44-year-olds is depicted in a feint bar of the same color. The feint bars for age-adjusted median incomes, are caped by a solid black line for the below median income ZIP codes, and dashed black line for the above median income ZIP codes. Urban areas, suburbs, and exurbs/rural areas classifications are made using National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) locale definitions, while dense urban cores are defined as ZIP codes in the top decile of population density.

For Columbus, the 5-year average growth rates for below their median income urban cores, urban areas, suburbs, and exurbs/rural areas are as follows: home prices grew by 71.6%, 68.9%, 51.7%, and 52.6%, respectively, while incomes grew by 39.6%, 42.5%, 41.2%, and 35.4%, respectively.

For Columbus, the 5-year average growth rates for above their median income urban cores, urban areas, suburbs, and exurbs/rural areas are as follows: home prices grew by 33.1%, 49.1%, 44.7%, and 52.9%, respectively, while incomes grew by 42.2%,  42.8%,  42.6%, and  36.7%, respectively.

For other Ohio MSAs, the 5-year average growth rates for below their median income urban cores, urban areas, suburbs, and exurbs/rural areas are as follows: home prices grew by 64.8%, 60.4%%, 58.6%, and  53.1%, respectively, while incomes grew by 41.9%,  44.7%,  39.1%, and  36.1%, respectively.

For other Ohio MSAs, the 5-year average growth rates for above their median income urban cores, urban areas, suburbs, and exurbs/rural areas are as follows: home prices grew by 49.9%, 50.7%, 47.4%, and 47.4%, respectively, while incomes grew by 43.4%, 41.4%, 37.6%, and 36.4%, respectively.

 For MSAs with 1 to 5 million inhabitants, the 5-year average growth rates for below their median income urban cores, urban areas, suburbs, and exurbs/rural areas are as follows: home prices grew by 45.0%,  47.2%,  49.2%, and  48.4%, respectively, while incomes grew by  42.6%,  40.5%, 39.3%, and  37.9%, respectively.

For MSAs with 1 to 5 million inhabitants, the 5-year average growth rates for above their median income urban cores, urban areas, suburbs, and exurbs/rural areas are as follows: home prices grew by 34.6%,  42.5%,  46.5%, and 47.1%, respectively, while incomes grew by  41.3%,  39.4%,  39.4%, and  37.8%, respectively. 

Areas of Columbus where residents have more financial vulnerability and less freedom to move elsewhere have experienced a greater decline in housing affordability.

 

The largest declines in affordability occurred in lower income areas in the more densely populated urban areas of the city. Higher-income areas of urban Columbus didn’t experience as much home price growth—income growth exceeded that of home prices in the high-income parts of the urban center—potentially due to growing prominence of work-from-home arrangements disproportionately available among higher-income professions.4 Residents in these areas prior to the pandemic were more likely to have opportunities to access more space in the suburbs. Other Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) in Ohio and similarly sized metros nationally showed a similar pattern, with lower-income areas experiencing greater declines in affordability, although the differences by income segment were less pronounced than in Columbus.

These patterns highlight the complex changes in the housing market in Columbus. Areas that may have been attractive entry points to the housing market in lower-income urban areas have become less attainable: their prices have been bid higher, making renters in those areas less able to make the transition to homeownership. Meanwhile, the suburbs and rural areas of the Columbus metro area have also become less affordable, affecting areas with both high- and low-income residents. Families with limited resources struggling to find affordable housing options in the area can feel squeezed in these circumstances. As highlighted in a recent Axios article on the Columbus housing market, rising construction costs make it less likely that housing supply growth will alleviate worsening affordability conditions.

Appendix: Urban-Rural spectrum categories 

The map below shows the Columbus metro area broken out by urban, suburban, and rural categories, based on NCES classifications. The urban-core group denotes ZIP codes in the top decile of the metro area in terms of population density, based on Census data.

The appendix figure is titled, “Columbus metro area: Urban-rural breakdown” shows a county map of the Columbus metropolitan statistical area (MSA) with the zip-codes shaded by urban-rural classification. Rural areas are shaded beige, suburbs are shaded green, urban areas are light blue, and the urban core is shaded dark blue.

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Footnotes

1.

See population growth of Columbus and selected other midwestern metropolitan areas: FRED link. 

2.

According to The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Home Ownership Affordability Monitor (HOAM) Metropolitan Area view.

3.

We use similar categories as Ramani and Bloom (2022). 

4.

See Mondragon and Wieland (2022).

Authors

Chris Wheat

Chris Wheat

President, JPMorganChase Institute

George Eckerd

George Eckerd

Wealth and Markets Research Director, JPMorganChase Institute

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