Cities › OH
Columbus
Mayor Andrew Ginther · Democratic · in office since Jan. 1, 2016
The Executive Summary
Mayor Andrew Ginther (D) has led Columbus since Jan. 2016; on economic outcomes — the only thing this site scores for mayors — Columbus ranks No. 18 of 21 big cities. On Ginther's watch, poverty rate fell 19.8% → 17.2% across 2017–2024; unemployment rose 4% → 4.4% across 2017–2025. Crime, housing and schools are not in this score, and outcomes are shared with the council and the economy — association, not causation.
| Unemployment 4.4% (2025) | +0.01σ · -0.3%/yr vs peers -0.44%/yr · 2017–2025 (9 pts) |
| Median household income $67,084 (2024 · constant 2024 $) | −0.98σ · -0.26%/yr vs peers +1.18%/yr · 2017–2024 (7 pts) |
| Poverty rate 17.2% (2024) | −0.30σ · -1.33%/yr vs peers -1.44%/yr · 2017–2024 (7 pts) |
| Government form | Strong mayor |
Columbus is a strong-mayor city, so day-to-day administration answers to Andrew Ginther. The score is Columbus's economic trend during their tenure, measured against the other 49 largest cities over the same years.
Sources: unemployment — BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · median household income — Census ACS 1-year, CPI-U deflated · poverty rate — Census ACS 1-year (B17001). Unemployment runs through 2025; income and poverty through 2024. The 2025 unemployment point is an eleven-month average — October 2025 was never collected during the federal shutdown — and it is included and flagged here under the same rule the state pages apply to the same statistic (one statistic, one rulebook, as of v2.6; through v2.5 city pages excluded it instead, and the changelog says so).
Scored on economic outcomes only — unemployment, real median income and poverty. Crime, housing and health are not yet included, so this is a narrower measure than a governor’s. Two denominators. The rank is out of 21 — the mayors with enough scored years to rank. 21 of 50 cities are scored, 0 of those are early reads left unranked, and 29 mayors are not yet scorable. Each σ is measured against all 49 other cities. No 2020 point exists for income or poverty — the Census Bureau never released standard ACS 1-year estimates for 2020, and the gap is not interpolated. That is why a window spanning 2020 carries one point fewer than its span. Government form follows standard reference classifications and was not verified city by city. Methodology
The Rundown
No. 18 of 21 big-city mayors — on economics, and only economics.
Unemployment. About the middle of the pack. 4% → 4.4% across 2017–2025.
Poverty rate. Worse than the typical big city. 19.8% → 17.2% across 2017–2024.
Median household income. Worse than the typical big city. $66,173 → $67,084 across 2017–2024.
How this is scored: 60% is where Columbus stands against the other 49 largest cities, 40% is which way it moved on Mayor Ginther's watch — the same rule governors get. It covers 3 economic outcomes only: crime, housing and schools are not in this grade, so it is narrower than a governor's. Columbus is a strong-mayor city, so day-to-day administration answers to the mayor.
Columbus sits in OH, whose governor Mike DeWine holds a scored statewide record (No. 8 of 29). State outcomes are not the mayor’s grade — a city is not a state — but they’re the nearest verified context today.