Lifestyle: Finding Your Place - Canal Winchester

FINDING YOUR PLACE

Whether you prefer city, suburban or small-town settings, Central Ohio has a spot for you.

If downtown living isn’t your vibe, no worries. The Columbus Region has plenty of options, from trendy walkable neighborhoods to charming rural towns. Here’s an alphabetical snapshot of 28 notable communities around Central Ohio—one of which is apt to feel just like home to you.

CANAL WINCHESTER

FOUNDED 1826 | POPULATION 9,514 | COUNTIES Fairfield and Franklin

Canal Winchester was the second-fastest-growing community in Central Ohio during the last five years that U.S. Census estimates were available (2016 to 2021), with a 19.2 percent population jump. This formerly rural suburb just 15 minutes southeast of downtown Columbus is home to two rapidly expanding industrial parks, a medical campus, an abundance of retailers and restaurants, a sea of newer residential developments and a thriving historic downtown. Scottish craft brewer BrewDog even selected Canal Winchester as its U.S. headquarters in 2017. Its campus includes brewing facilities, a taproom, a craft beer museum and “the world’s first craft beer hotel.”

Community traditions include the city’s annual Labor Day Festival with three days of live music, a car show, farmers market and ice cream social, as well as a spring Art Stroll and a summer Blues & Ribfest. The National Barber Museum and Hall of Fame adds some lingering small-town quirk to this ever-evolving city. Yet Canal’s rural charm is reflected in its 300-plus acres of public parklands, two wineries and the last remaining covered bridge in Franklin County.