RANK #748 / 1001 NAT · #45 / 49 OH · POP 60,131
1YR FORECAST: +0.6%
5YR OUTLOOK: +24%
Circleville, the county seat of Pickaway County, Ohio, is known for its annual Circleville Pumpkin Show, a large free festival. Pickaway County is located directly south of Columbus, along Interstate 71. It maintains a rural character, with 87% of its land dedicated to agriculture. Commutes to Columbus are common, with an average travel time of 27.9 minutes. The county offers outdoor recreation opportunities at Deer Creek State Park, which provides fishing, camping, and hiking. Other parks like A.W. Marion State Park and Calamus Swamp also offer trails and natural scenery.
Life in Pickaway County balances rural living with access to amenities in the Columbus metropolitan area. The public schools in Pickaway County are considered above average. Residents tend to own their homes, and the community is generally conservative. The economy is experiencing growth, driven by investments in data centers, energy, industrial and logistics facilities, and manufacturing. Agriculture remains a significant part of the county's economic base and heritage.
Pickaway County's data profile doesn't fit any single market profile cleanly — its housing, labor, and demographic signals pull in different directions (home prices +4.0% YoY, population +1.2%, wages +2.3%). About 414 U.S. counties show this kind of mixed-signal pattern.
See all 414 Idiosyncratic Markets counties →Overvalued relative to economy
Below-average climate & terrain
Prices detached from rents
Housing looks overvalued at 16.1x — home prices are high relative to local economic output. The typical U.S. county is 4–6x.
Estimated local headcount ranges. Larger employers shown as floor + "+"; smaller employers show exact counts where reported.
Bars show trailing 12-month growth. The dashed Forecast bars are the model's next-12-month projection; the whisker marks the ±1% range (cooling–accelerating).
Source: Redfin · Census BPS — Browse sales on Redfin →
Source: CDC/NCHS vital statistics via County Health Rankings (2020–2022 avg). Rates per 100,000 population. Grade based on homicide rate relative to national average (~6.3). Learn more →
| PROJECT | AMOUNT | STATUS |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries Manufacturing Facility (Arsenal-1)
Anduril Industries Inc.
|
$1,000M | Planned |
|
EdgeConneX Ashville Data Center
EdgeConneX
|
$1,000M | Planned |
|
Commercial Point Data Campus
JLL (marketed by)
|
$500M | Proposed |
|
CT Realty Warehouse Development
CT Realty
|
$250M | Completed |
|
Sofidel Phase II Expansion
Sofidel
|
$185M | Completed |
|
Pickaway Solar
Dominion Renewable Energy
|
$100M | Operating |
Source: public records, news, corporate announcements. Amounts are estimates where noted.
Bars show percentile rank among all 1001 counties.
At 25/100, Pickaway County faces headwinds that place it in the lower third of the 1001 counties we track. Median income of $74,040 combined with job growth of +2.4% suggests the local economy is struggling to keep pace with national trends.
Housing in Pickaway County is roughly in line with national affordability norms. The median home costs $256,800 and the income-to-home-value ratio sits at 0.29, with rents averaging $1,020/month. Not a bargain, but not a stretch for most local earners either.
Pickaway County is growing on multiple fronts. Population is up +1.2% year-over-year while employers added jobs at a +2.4% clip — and home values reflect that momentum, rising +4.0% over the past 12 months.
In significant numbers — 7.51% of Pickaway County's current population relocated from another state, well above the national norm. That level of in-migration usually signals a county where jobs, affordability, or quality of life are pulling people in from elsewhere.