COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus is among the top 10 cities in the U.S. with the most downtown apartment construction, a new RentCafe study shows.
According to RentCafe, Columbus is 10th in the nation for constructing new downtown apartment units, outpacing cities in the quickly-growing states like Texas and South Carolina. Columbus was the only Midwestern city outside of Chicago to make the top 10:
- Washington D.C. (22,959 downtown units built, 2020-2024)
- Chicago (13,901 downtown units built, 2020-2024)
- Denver (13,149 downtown units built, 2020-2024)
- Atlanta (11,130 downtown units built, 2020-2024)
- Charlotte, N.C. (11,031 downtown units built, 2020-2024)
- Miami (10,841 downtown units built, 2020-2024)
- Seattle (10,195 downtown units built, 2020-2024)
- Nashville, Tenn. (8,892 downtown units built, 2020-2024)
- Philadelphia (8,271 downtown units built, 2020-2024)
- Columbus (8,090 downtown units built, 2020-2024)
In the last five years, Columbus built 8,090 apartments downtown, equivalent to 40.4% of the city’s new apartments. This marks a slight increase from before the pandemic, where 35.7% of apartments built in the city were built downtown. Columbus also had the largest increase in what percent of apartments are being built downtown of any top 10 city.
RentCafe noted several changes in Columbus apartment construction from the previous decade. Around 4% of new downtown apartments came from building makeovers, a significant decrease from 2010-2019 construction. In the previous decade, 11% of all new downtown apartments came from makeovers.
Columbus was the only city in Ohio to make the top 50 list. The U.S. census found Columbus had the 14th-highest population increase in the nation from 2023 and 2024, growing by 12,694 people in just one year. Census data shows Columbus is growing more quickly then apartments and houses are being built.
Although Columbus is a national leader in downtown apartment construction, many people moving to central Ohio are choosing to live around the city, rather than downtown itself. According to U.S. Census data, Canal Winchester, Grandview Heights, Grove City, Hilliard, New Albany, Pickerington and Reynoldsburg are all seeing larger relative population growth than Columbus.
Columbus is preparing for even more downtown apartments. Emphasizing mixed-use developments, the city is considering proposals for apartment complexes at the former Spaghetti Warehouse location, residential units at several redevelopments Downtown and another new Downtown apartment complex on the corner of Fulton and Grant Avenue.
