Home > Columbus, Ohio
5.3 Festivals
Annual festivities in Columbus include the Ohio State Fair —one of the largest state fairs in the country; the Columbus Arts Festival and the Jazz and Ribs Festival, both of which occur on the downtown waterfront. ComFest (short for "community festival") is an immense three-day gathering in Goodale Park (just north of downtown Columbus) with art vendors and live music on multiple stages, hundreds of local social and political organizations, body painting, and enough beer to quench anyone's thirst. Coinciding with the weekend of ComFest is the large Gay Pride Parade, reflective of the sizeable gay population in Columbus. Around the Fourth of July, Columbus hosts Red, White_U_S_Census|White], and Boom], the largest fireworks display in the midwest on the riverfront downtown to crowds of over 500,000 people, as well as the popular "Doo Dah Parade", a nonsensical satire of ordinary parades. The Short North is host to the monthly "Gallery Hop", which attracts hundreds to the neighborhood's art galleries (which all open their doors to the public until late at night) and street musicians.
6 Demographics
As of the census 2 of 2000, there are 711,470 people, 301,534 households, and 165,240 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,306.4/km˛ (3,383.6/mi˛). There are 327,175 housing units at an average density of 600.8/km˛ (1,556.0/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city is 67.93% White, 24.47% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 3.44% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.17% from other races, and 2.65% from two or more races. 2.46% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 301,534 households out of which 28.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.1% are married couples living together, 14.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 45.2% are non-families. 34.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.30 and the average family size is 3.01.
In the city the population is spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 14.0% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 91.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $37,897, and the median income for a family is $47,391. Males have a median income of $35,138 versus $28,705 for females. The per capita income for the city is $20,450. 14.8% of the population and 10.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 18.7% of those under the age of 18 and 10.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
6.1 Famous People from Columbus
- Nancy Wilson, singer
- Majel Barrett, actress
- Bow Wow, musician
- Prescott Bush, US Senator, father and grandfather of Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, respectively
- Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice, Treasury Secretary, Governor and Senator
- James "Buster" Douglas, former boxing heavyweight champion after defeating Mike Tyson
- Woody Hayes, football coach
- Curtis LeMay, World War II and Cold War U.S. Air Force general
- Jack Nicklaus, professional golfer
- Eddie Rickenbacker, World War I fighter pilot, "Ace of Aces"
- Arthur M. Schlessinger, Jr. , historian and writer
- Twyla Tharp, dancer
- James Thurber, cartoonist and humorist
- Leslie Wexner, businessman and major city philanthropist
- Beverly D'Angelo, actress
- Dwight Yoakam, singer
- Bobby Rahal, race-car driver
