Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 34/100
F
Median home value$193,900
Columbus $300,800
Median rent$1,083/mo
Columbus $1,274/mo
Cost-burdened households33%
Columbus 29%
Lancaster
Fairfield County41,249 residentsLancaster City
51
D+
Suburbgrade score
19th of 24 Columbus suburbs. Strong on amenities and cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
51
Columbus median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Lancaster yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 51 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Lancaster is like to live in, by category
Bars show Lancaster against Columbus. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 43/100
D
Within-state proficiency34th pct
Columbus median 62nd pct
Student–teacher ratio19.8
Columbus median 17.8
Graduation rate90%
Columbus median 90%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 74/100
B
Housing cost index79
Columbus 100
Eff. tax rate0.91%
Columbus 1.42%
Local sales tax7.29%
Columbus median 7.29%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 48/100
D+
Mean commute27.7 min
Columbus 23.6 min
Under 30 minutes56%
Columbus 70%
Transit stops / sq mi5.6
Columbus median 1.6 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 78/100
B+
Restaurants & cafés92
Columbus median 49 · within 2 miles
Groceries6
Columbus median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks50
Columbus median 36 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 41/100
D−
Median household income$59,133
Columbus $81,945
Unemployment5.0%
Columbus 4.1%
Professional occupations35%
Columbus 46%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Lancaster yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Lancaster on housing & affordability
Lancaster's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Bexley24 mi from LancasterB− 77 B Canal Winchester14 mi from LancasterB− 65 C+ Pickerington14 mi from LancasterC+ 62 C Pataskala21 mi from LancasterC 49 D+ Heath22 mi from LancasterD+ 58 C Reynoldsburg19 mi from LancasterD 55 C− Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Lancaster
Is Lancaster, OH a good place to live?
Lancaster scores 51 out of 100, 19th of 24 Columbus suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Lancaster expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B. The median home is $193,900, 36% below the Columbus median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.91%. $1,083/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Lancaster?
Schools grade D. The districts serving Lancaster sit at the 34th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 90% graduation rate and a 19.8 student–teacher ratio. Lancaster is served by Lancaster City. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Lancaster?
The mean commute is 27.7 min, with 56% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 9.3% working from home. Transit density is 5.6 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Lancaster?
Within two miles there are 6 groceries, 92 restaurants and cafés and 50 parks, which grades B+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Lancaster old or new?
The median home in Lancaster was built in 1963 — older than the Columbus median of 1982. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 74% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.