Ohio's Underrated Capital — the largest city in Ohio by population that most Americans underestimate, home to Ohio State University (one of the largest US universities), a Short North arts corridor that punches well above its weight, and a food scene anchored by everything from Jeni's ice cream to Schmidt's sausage house
Columbus is the capital of Ohio and the largest city in the state — a city of 900,000 (metro 2.1 million) in central Ohio, often overlooked nationally but consistently ranked among the best US cities for young professionals, startups, and quality of life. Ohio State University (60,000 students, the third-largest US university by enrollment) dominates the north side of Columbus and brings a year-round energy of sports, research, and student culture — Ohio Stadium ('The Shoe', capacity 102,000) is the largest stadium in the US and one of the most intense college football environments in the cou…
The Columbus area was inhabited by the Hopewell culture (100 BCE–500 CE), known for the extraordinary Newark Earthworks 50km east — the largest geometric earthworks in the ancient world. The current city was founded in 1812 as Ohio's state capital, chosen for its central location. Columbus grew as a manufacturing and insurance centre rather than a natural resource hub, giving it a more diversified economic base than many Midwestern cities. Ohio State University was established in 1870 under the Morrill Land-Grant Act. Columbus largely avoided the deindustrialisation that devastated Detroit, C…