Return to the PIE Home PageHouseholders in the Columbus Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) are generally satisfied with the overall quality of their neighborhoods, according to the American Housing Survey in 1987. On a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best), 68.2% of all householders rated their neighborhoods an 8, 9 or 10 (best) overall, and only 5.3% rated their neighborhoods a 1, 2 or 3 (worst). For specific geographic areas, however, variation in satisfaction exists. Residents in the remainder of Franklin County (i.e., the suburbs) were more satisfied with their neighborhoods (80.3% rated neighborhoods best) than were residents in the City of Columbus (65.4%). Lower satisfaction with neighborhoods in Columbus reflects a greater prevalence of neighborhood problems reported. 51.2% of Columbus households reported a problem in their neighborhoods in 1987, compared to 37.9% in the remainder of Franklin County. The most frequently reported problem was other people (20.8% in Columbus and 13.5% in the suburbs). Residents of Columbus were more than three times as likely to report crime as a neighborhood problem than were residents of the remainder of Franklin County (11.7% in Columbus and only 3.0% in the suburbs).
Remainder
Columbus MSA Columbus of County
House- House- House-
Rating holds % holds % holds %
1 (Worst) 9,800 2.0 6,900 3.1 700 0.5
2 5,900 1.2 4,600 2.1 800 0.6
3 10,500 2.1 6,900 3.1 1,100 0.8
4 8,000 1.6 5,800 2.6 500 0.4
5 41,200 8.3 26,700 11.9 7,600 5.6
6 27,800 5.6 17,200 7.7 4,700 3.5
7 54,400 11.0 29,800 13.3 11,300 8.3
8 108,500 21.9 51,700 23.1 29,200 21.5
9 72,500 14.6 29,300 13.1 25,600 18.9
10 (Best) 156,900 31.7 45,200 20.2 54,100 39.9
Total 495,500 100.0 224,100 100.0 135,600 100.0
Remainder
Columbus MSA Columbus of County
House- House- House-
Problem holds % holds % holds %
None 271,300 54.8 108,300 48.2 84,100 62.1
With Problem 220,800 44.6 114,600 51.2 51,400 37.9
Crime 31,400 6.3 26,200 11.7 4,100 3.0
Noise 34,500 7.0 22,900 10.2 4,300 3.2
Traffic 42,600 8.6 20,700 9.2 10,500 7.7
Litter/Hous'g
Deterioration 31,100 6.3 18,800 8.4 6,200 4.6
Poor Public
Services 11,700 2.4 6,000 2.7 2,600 1.9
Undesirable
Land Uses 11,900 2.4 5,100 2.3 3,000 2.2
People 88,100 17.8 46,600 20.8 18,400 13.6
Other 44,200 8.9 22,000 9.8 13,200 9.7
Not Reported 4,100 0.8 700 0.3 1,800 1.3
Note: Totals may not add up to 100% because more than one category may apply to a household.
Source: American Housing Survey for the Columbus MSA, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Bureau of the Census
Filename: PS-011