What Are Columbus Property Taxes by ZIP Code? 67 ZIPs Compared
Two Columbus houses at the same price can carry yearly tax bills thousands of dollars apart, and the ZIP code is the fastest way to see it. Across 6,368 single family homes that sold around Columbus in 2026, the median tax bill was 1.40 percent of the sale price in Franklin County, and by ZIP it ran from about three quarters of a percent to more than one and two thirds.
I pulled every 2026 single family closing in the Columbus REALTORS MLS across Franklin, Delaware, Licking, Fairfield, Union, Madison and Pickaway counties that carried a 2025 tax bill, and divided each bill by the price the house sold for. That gives the rate a buyer sees at today's prices, ZIP by ZIP.
How Much Are Property Taxes by County Around Columbus?
| County | Sales | Median tax as % of price | Median annual tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | 173 | 0.84% | $2,849 |
| Pickaway | 239 | 0.88% | $2,848 |
| Licking | 870 | 1.02% | $3,654 |
| Fairfield | 895 | 1.14% | $3,885 |
| Union | 368 | 1.37% | $5,405 |
| Delaware | 1,148 | 1.39% | $7,662 |
| Franklin | 2,675 | 1.40% | $5,341 |
Source: Columbus REALTORS MLS, single family closings January 7 to September 21, 2026, with a 2025 tax year bill on the listing. Rate is the annual tax divided by the sale price, per sale, then medianed.
Franklin County and Delaware County land at nearly the same rate, about 1.4 percent, but Delaware's median bill is about $2,300 higher because its homes sell for more. Madison and Pickaway counties sit below 0.9 percent.
What Are Property Taxes in Each Columbus ZIP Code?
| ZIP | Town (mailing) | County | Sales | Median tax as % of price | Median annual tax | Median sale price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43143 | Mount Sterling | Madison | 19 | 0.75% | $2,130 | $272,000 |
| 43140 | London | Madison | 81 | 0.76% | $2,612 | $340,000 |
| 43113 | Circleville | Pickaway | 88 | 0.82% | $2,232 | $305,000 |
| 43154 | Stoutsville | Fairfield | 16 | 0.85% | $2,845 | $310,000 |
| 43080 | Utica | Licking | 21 | 0.86% | $2,058 | $220,025 |
| 43055 | Newark | Licking | 314 | 0.87% | $2,197 | $260,000 |
| 43061 | Ostrander | Delaware | 22 | 0.89% | $5,472 | $546,000 |
| 43076 | Thornville | Licking | 28 | 0.90% | $3,368 | $358,950 |
| 43107 | Bremen | Fairfield | 17 | 0.94% | $2,914 | $305,000 |
| 43103 | Ashville | Pickaway | 69 | 0.98% | $3,226 | $350,000 |
| 43130 | Lancaster | Fairfield | 373 | 1.00% | $2,580 | $265,000 |
| 43146 | Orient | Pickaway | 24 | 1.00% | $3,396 | $400,000 |
| 43162 | West Jefferson | Madison | 34 | 1.00% | $2,634 | $260,500 |
| 43031 | Johnstown | Licking | 63 | 1.02% | $4,576 | $445,000 |
| 43056 | Heath | Licking | 60 | 1.05% | $3,048 | $325,250 |
| 43025 | Hebron | Licking | 39 | 1.06% | $4,660 | $388,500 |
| 43105 | Baltimore | Fairfield | 36 | 1.06% | $3,372 | $323,000 |
| 43074 | Sunbury | Delaware | 104 | 1.07% | $5,208 | $547,900 |
| 43344 | Richwood | Union | 33 | 1.10% | $2,622 | $259,000 |
| 43116 | Commercial Point | Pickaway | 28 | 1.12% | $4,576 | $409,725 |
| 43023 | Granville | Licking | 84 | 1.14% | $6,516 | $510,000 |
| 43119 | Galloway | Franklin | 61 | 1.14% | $3,774 | $335,000 |
| 43112 | Carroll | Fairfield | 28 | 1.16% | $5,142 | $469,450 |
| 43214 | Columbus | Franklin | 111 | 1.18% | $5,941 | $500,000 |
| 43223 | Columbus | Franklin | 47 | 1.18% | $2,166 | $170,000 |
| 43206 | Columbus | Franklin | 72 | 1.19% | $6,307 | $506,500 |
| 43202 | Columbus | Franklin | 39 | 1.21% | $5,096 | $424,400 |
| 43224 | Columbus | Franklin | 77 | 1.21% | $2,638 | $229,000 |
| 43201 | Columbus | Franklin | 31 | 1.22% | $5,873 | $516,000 |
| 43068 | Reynoldsburg | Franklin | 143 | 1.23% | $3,779 | $315,000 |
| 43123 | Grove City | Franklin | 183 | 1.23% | $4,277 | $355,000 |
| 43021 | Galena | Delaware | 76 | 1.25% | $10,117 | $737,000 |
| 43219 | Columbus | Franklin | 46 | 1.25% | $2,340 | $177,500 |
| 43229 | Columbus | Franklin | 49 | 1.25% | $3,633 | $293,500 |
| 43062 | Pataskala | Licking | 167 | 1.26% | $4,912 | $385,000 |
| 43125 | Groveport | Franklin | 26 | 1.26% | $3,802 | $305,000 |
| 43204 | Columbus | Franklin | 78 | 1.26% | $2,951 | $207,500 |
| 43207 | Columbus | Franklin | 106 | 1.26% | $2,810 | $223,800 |
| 43136 | Lithopolis | Fairfield | 18 | 1.28% | $4,988 | $401,382 |
| 43046 | Millersport | Fairfield | 25 | 1.30% | $5,457 | $423,000 |
| 43213 | Columbus | Franklin | 62 | 1.30% | $2,602 | $209,900 |
| 43228 | Columbus | Franklin | 96 | 1.30% | $3,293 | $301,450 |
| 43211 | Columbus | Franklin | 63 | 1.31% | $1,814 | $142,000 |
| 43231 | Columbus | Franklin | 31 | 1.31% | $4,204 | $326,000 |
| 43232 | Columbus | Franklin | 52 | 1.31% | $2,758 | $217,400 |
| 43064 | Plain City | Union | 144 | 1.33% | $7,576 | $644,500 |
| 43147 | Pickerington | Fairfield | 290 | 1.33% | $5,720 | $430,000 |
| 43015 | Delaware | Delaware | 345 | 1.36% | $5,405 | $435,000 |
| 43040 | Marysville | Union | 179 | 1.38% | $5,186 | $384,900 |
| 43110 | Canal Winchester | Franklin | 99 | 1.38% | $4,733 | $380,000 |
| 43209 | Columbus | Franklin | 79 | 1.38% | $7,398 | $575,000 |
| 43227 | Columbus | Franklin | 42 | 1.40% | $2,518 | $167,950 |
| 43082 | Westerville | Delaware | 153 | 1.43% | $8,406 | $600,000 |
| 43212 | Columbus | Franklin | 45 | 1.46% | $10,168 | $645,000 |
| 43220 | Columbus | Franklin | 67 | 1.46% | $10,451 | $685,000 |
| 43065 | Powell | Delaware | 248 | 1.47% | $8,898 | $612,500 |
| 43221 | Columbus | Franklin | 114 | 1.48% | $8,790 | $620,000 |
| 43035 | Lewis Center | Delaware | 145 | 1.52% | $8,735 | $560,000 |
| 43004 | Blacklick | Franklin | 76 | 1.53% | $6,932 | $452,500 |
| 43081 | Westerville | Franklin | 195 | 1.53% | $6,460 | $435,000 |
| 43017 | Dublin | Franklin | 135 | 1.54% | $10,663 | $700,000 |
| 43054 | New Albany | Franklin | 92 | 1.56% | $11,733 | $732,075 |
| 43016 | Dublin | Franklin | 73 | 1.57% | $9,659 | $630,000 |
| 43230 | Columbus | Franklin | 96 | 1.58% | $6,700 | $412,500 |
| 43235 | Columbus | Franklin | 97 | 1.64% | $7,506 | $510,000 |
| 43026 | Hilliard | Franklin | 155 | 1.65% | $6,784 | $426,500 |
| 43085 | Worthington | Franklin | 60 | 1.67% | $9,475 | $572,500 |
Same source and method. ZIP codes with at least 15 sales shown, sorted from lowest to highest rate. Town is the most common mailing city on sales in that ZIP.
Why Do Two Columbus ZIP Codes Have Such Different Taxes?
Two things move together.
The first is the taxing district, and inside that the school district. In Ohio the school district is usually the largest slice of the levies on a bill, so a ZIP that sits mostly in a higher-millage district runs a higher rate. That is why 43085, 43026, 43235 and 43016, mostly in the Worthington, Hilliard and Dublin districts, sit at the top of the Franklin County rate list, while ZIPs mostly in the South-Western and Columbus districts sit near the bottom.
The second is price. A higher rate on a more expensive house compounds. 43054 New Albany runs 1.56 percent, not the highest rate on the list, but the median bill is $11,733 because the median sale is $732,075.
The mailing address does not decide any of this. A Columbus address can sit in Columbus City Schools, Westerville City Schools or several others, and the ZIP table above is a mix of every district inside each ZIP. I looked at that for one town in whether a Westerville address is always in Westerville schools, and the answer was no for about one house in four.
How Are Property Taxes Calculated in Franklin County?
The county auditor sets a market value on the house, and Ohio taxes 35 percent of that, the assessed value. A house the auditor values at $300,000 has an assessed value of $105,000. Each levy in your taxing district is a number of mills, one dollar per $1,000 of assessed value, and the millage stacks.
Then Ohio's reduction factors bring the gross millage down on voted levies, so the effective rate is lower than the stacked number suggests. Owner-occupied homes also get a credit on older levies. That is why the effective rates in the table, 1.14 to 1.67 percent in Franklin County, are well below what a raw millage total implies.
The full mechanics, including why a big jump in value does not mean the same jump in your bill and how to contest a value, are in why Franklin County property taxes went up.
What Should You Check Before You Buy?
- Pull the parcel on the Franklin County Auditor site, or the Delaware, Licking or Fairfield auditor, depending on where the house sits. The parcel record shows the taxing district and the current bill.
- Compare the bill to the price you will pay, not the price the seller paid. The table above does exactly that.
- Ask what the 2026 Franklin County update did to the value. Those values drive the 2027 bills.
- Run the bill into the monthly payment. At about 1.4 percent, every $100,000 of price adds roughly $117 a month in tax. In 43085 it is about $139.
For how taxes change the rent-or-buy math by town, see is it cheaper to rent or buy in Columbus, and for the full cash picture, how much it costs to buy a house in Columbus.
Send me the addresses you are considering. I will pull each parcel's district, its current bill and its tax history, and run the bill at your price, so the tax line never surprises you after closing.
Thinking about buying or selling in Columbus? Let's talk. Contact Adam Geuy at Blacktree Realty.
Westerville by the numbers
998 homes closed in Westerville in 2026 through September 28, 2026, median $440,000, middle half $335,000 to $545,000, a median 6 days on market. 305 active today, 2.8 months of supply. Full read: the Westerville housing market page.
196 homes for sale in Westerville right now, 36 of them new this week, live from the MLS: see every listing, or narrow it: homes under $250,000 (27), homes $250,000 to $500,000 (101), homes $500,000 to $1,000,000 (62), luxury homes over $1,000,000 (6), homes with a pool (41), waterfront, lake and pond homes (14), homes with a first-floor primary suite (20), homes with an in-law suite (14).
- ZIP codes: 43081 (678 sales, median $395,000), 43082 (321 sales, median $550,000)
- School districts: Columbus City School District (2.5 of 5 on the state report card), Westerville City School District (3.5 of 5 on the state report card), Worthington City School District (4 of 5 on the state report card), Big Walnut Local School District (4 of 5 on the state report card)
- Neighborhoods with enough sales to measure: Upper Albany West (31), Highland Lakes (25)
- By feature: condos and flats in Westerville (250), homes on an acre or more in Westerville (87), homes with a 3-car garage in Westerville (131), new construction in Westerville (31)
MLS record, aggregates only, refreshed monthly. A town median describes the town; the comparables for one house are a different pull.
Common questions
Which Columbus ZIP codes have the highest property taxes?
Measured as the 2025 tax bill divided by the 2026 sale price, the highest-rate ZIPs in the Columbus area are 43085 (Worthington) at 1.67 percent, 43026 (Hilliard) at 1.65, 43235 (northwest Columbus) at 1.64, 43230 (Gahanna side of Columbus) at 1.58 and 43016 (Dublin) at 1.57. By dollars, the biggest median bills are in 43054 New Albany at $11,733, 43017 Dublin at $10,663, 43220 at $10,451 and 43212 at $10,168.
Which Columbus ZIP codes have the lowest property taxes?
Inside Franklin County the lowest rates are 43119 Galloway at 1.14 percent and 43214, 43223 and 43206 in Columbus at 1.18 to 1.19 percent. Outside it, rates drop below 1 percent in much of Madison, Pickaway and Licking counties, led by 43143 Mount Sterling at 0.75 percent, 43140 London at 0.76 and 43113 Circleville at 0.82, measured on 2026 sales.
How are property taxes calculated in Franklin County?
The county auditor sets a market value, and Ohio taxes 35 percent of it. Every levy your taxing district has passed applies to that assessed value, then Ohio's reduction factors and the owner-occupancy credit bring the gross millage down to an effective rate. That is why the bill depends on the taxing district, mostly the school district, and not on the mailing address.
Will my tax bill be the same as the seller's?
Not necessarily. The bill on the listing is the seller's, based on the auditor's value. Your bill follows the auditor's value too, not your purchase price, until the next reappraisal or update. Franklin County ran its triennial update in 2026, and those values set the 2027 bills. Ask for the parcel's tax history and what the update did to it before you write an offer.