By Ringside Talent
July 10, 2018
Columbus isn’t just another typical Midwest city. It is a growing, booming city filled with businesses both big and small that are thriving and succeeding. There are a wide variety of fascinating facts about the Columbus business world that make our city one that you should be proud to be a part of or want to be a part of if you aren’t already!
1. Named Best City for Mid-Career Professionals in 2016
Columbus was recently awarded the top spot on the Forbes list of Best Cities for Mid-Career Professionals. Forbes considered the following six factors when producing the list: local unemployment rates, the median salaries of college-educated workers with at least 10 years of experience, job growth projections, the cost-of-living, Census date on the population aged 25+, and the cost of buying a home in the 100 biggest metropolitan cities in the country. Ultimately, Columbus came out on top after considering these factors.
2. Columbus Isn’t Just a College Town
Unlike its counterpart of Ann Arbor in that unmentionable state up north, Columbus is not just a college town. While we love and cherish our Ohio State Buckeyes, we have so much more to offer in our metropolitan area of over 2 million people. In 2013, Columbus launched a citywide bike sharing initiative, and to outsiders, this initiative appeared to be geared towards college students, but in reality it was established for the city’s young professionals who live all over Columbus.
3. Columbus Recently Won $140 Million in Funding from the White House
This summer, it was announced that Columbus was awarded $50 million in funding from the U.S Department of Transportation in the Smart City Challenge. The grant will aim to “create a fully integrated, first-of-its-kind city that uses data, technology and creativity to shape how people and goods move in the future,” according to the Department of Transportation. Columbus beat out cities including Austin, San Francisco, and Denver. In September, another $80 million of funding was added, creating a huge opportunity for Columbus.
4. Great City to Start a Business
If you’ve always dreamed of starting your own business, Columbus is a great option to watch your dreams turn into a reality. Columbus was recently ranked 15 on the Kauffman Foundation’s list of cities with most start-up activity in 2015-2016. For every 1,000 businesses in the Columbus area, 72 are start-ups.
5. Top Small City for Tech Talent
Technology is of course one of the biggest and fastest growing industries in the world. Columbus was ranked at the top of the list for small cities attracting tech talent. Part of this is due to being such a great city for start-ups. Other Ohio cities Cleveland and Cincinnati were ranked 40 and 41 respectively.
6. 3rd Leading Fashion Design City in Nation
Columbus comes in right after New York and Los Angeles in regards to biggest fashion design cities in the nation. This is highly due to the fact that large companies including Victoria’s Secret, DSW, and Abercrombie & Fitch are headquartered right here in Columbus. You truly don’t have to be in New York or LA to have a successful fashion career, you can stay right here!
7. Nation’s Highest Wage Growth Last Year
In 2015, Columbus recorded the country’s largest growth, weighing in at 6.2 percent. The national rate is 2.1 percent, making Columbus significantly higher. Columbus outscored the San Francisco Bay area (San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose) on this list.
It will be fascinating to watch Columbus continue to grow as a metropolitan city in years to come. Clearly, Columbus has so much to offer and so many worthwhile opportunities in the business world.