Living in Blacklick Estates, Ohio: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.5% below the U.S. average in the Columbus metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town9 public schools: 5 elementary, 1 middle, 2 high schools and 1 other.
A hospital close byMount Carmel East & West in Columbus, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityColumbus is about 8 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Blacklick Estates meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Blacklick Estates runs into the built-up area around Columbus (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $165,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 17%Franklin County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,358 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $69,368U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 69%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,365 a yearOhio: $2,822
Homes built before 1940: 2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 95.5U.S. average = 100 (the Columbus metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Columbus metro area, not Blacklick Estates alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey: 8,389The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 34.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 14%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%U.S.: 6%
College students: 6%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Retail (19%); schools, health care and social services (18%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (11%)
Unemployment rate: 8%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 13%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mount Carmel East & West, Columbus, OH, about 5 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

9 public schools in Blacklick Estates, run by Groveport Madison Local and Columbus City Schools District.

Colleges in or next to town: Valor Christian College (under 1,000 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Ohio's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 82%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 92%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 19°F
July average high: 86°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 17 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 118 a year
Rain and melted snow: 41.6 inches a year
Snow: 28 inches a year
Elevation: 751 feet

Weather stations: Columbus-valley Crossing (3 miles away) and Columbus Port Columbus Intl Ap (6 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Mount Carmel East & WestEmergency room5

Columbus, OHMetro of 2.2 million8

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Mount Carmel East & West, Columbus.

Franklin County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park36 miles
Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument56 miles

Campus life. Check Valor Christian College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Blacklick Estates's history on Wikipedia.

Know Blacklick Estates?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Groveport, OH5,800 people, 4 miles
Whitehall, OH19,800 people, 5 miles
Canal Winchester, OH10,100 people, 5 miles
Obetz, OH7,300 people, 5 miles
Bexley, OH12,500 people, 6 miles
Lithopolis, OH3,000 people, 7 miles

Smaller places

Brice, OH110 people, 2 miles
Lockbourne, OH228 people, 9 miles
Etna, OH (unincorporated)1,440 people, 10 miles
Carroll, OH504 people, 11 miles
Valleyview, OH640 people, 12 miles
Marble Cliff, OH658 people, 12 miles
Jersey, OH (unincorporated)304 people, 13 miles
Kirkersville, OH486 people, 15 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.