Program Directory

Columbus Metropolitan Club - Benchmarking Columbus

How does Columbus compare with 15 other metro areas? Some good news, some bad news. Lynette Cook, recently appointed executive director for Community Research Partners (CRP), will present the findings from the recently completed research that compares central Ohio with fifteen other similar communities.

The Columbus Partnership and The Columbus Foundation commission this recurring study to benchmark Columbus' progress and to spark conversation among community leaders. Researchers at CRP tracked data using more than seventy indicators, delving a little deeper than even the previous studies. Cook explains that with six years of data, trends are emerging that show more clearly how Columbus stacks up against these other comparable cities.

The research was broad-based using five major categories. The first was population vitality including basic characteristics of the population such as birth rate, age, and ethnicity. The second was economic strength such as jobs, workforce, areas of job growth, small business, and women in business. The third was personal prosperity, such as personal income, vehicle and home ownership. Community well-being, the fourth category, brought to light broad subjects from health, safety, infrastructure and transportation to the arts and entertainment. Finally, the life-long learning category probed all areas of education including pre-kindergarten, adult literacy and the use of libraries. For the third time, the Columbus Metropolitan Club is pleased to present the forum to release the findings from this study.

August 21, 2013