New Albany vs Lewis Center Ohio: Schools, Prices, Lifestyle
I get this matchup more than almost any other in Central Ohio. A seller in New Albany is eyeing Lewis Center, or a buyer is weighing the two before they ever tour a house. The two suburbs sit on opposite arcs of the I-270 loop, they feed two of Ohio's most decorated school districts, and they could not feel more different on the ground.
I sell across both. So here is the honest comparison: schools, home prices, the feel of each place, the amenities, and what you will actually do on a Saturday. Real numbers, named sources, no spin. If you want the wider field, I also put Dublin, Powell, Westerville, and New Albany side by side in a separate guide.
Where does each suburb sit?
New Albany is northeast of downtown in Franklin County, about 7 miles out. Most of it runs 10 to 15 minutes to the downtown core via I-670 and SR-161, and 15 to 25 minutes to John Glenn International Airport via I-270. Easton Town Center, one of the metro's biggest shopping and dining hubs, sits just to the southwest.
Lewis Center is north of downtown in Delaware County, an unincorporated community in Orange Township. It sits east of the Olentangy River across from Powell, west of Alum Creek, and just north of the Polaris corridor. Downtown Columbus runs about 25 to 30 minutes via US-23 or I-71, with the airport around 30 minutes out. Polaris, the area's big retail and office anchor, is minutes south.
Put a pin in each and you get the geography of the whole tradeoff. New Albany is closer in and more polished. Lewis Center is a little farther out and built around water, trails, and newer construction.
How do New Albany and Lewis Center home prices compare?
Before any number, one warning. "New Albany" and "Lewis Center" each mean three different price points depending on whether you draw the line at the city limit, the ZIP code, or the school district. To compare apples to apples, the figures below use school-district medians published by the Columbus REALTORS MLS, the regional multiple listing service and the way local buyers actually shop.
Here is the year-over-year median sale price for each district.
| Year | New Albany-Plain LSD | YoY | Olentangy LSD | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $440,000 | n/a | $400,000 | n/a |
| 2021 | $526,500 | +19.7% | $445,000 | +11.3% |
| 2022 | $637,500 | +21.1% | $500,000 | +12.4% |
| 2023 | $672,500 | +5.5% | $537,700 | +7.5% |
| 2024 | $685,000 | +1.9% | $559,950 | +4.1% |
| 2025 | $640,000 | -6.6% | $569,900 | +1.8% |
Over the full five years from 2020 to 2025, the two markets appreciated almost identically: about 45.5 percent in New Albany-Plain and about 42.5 percent in Olentangy. An independent home-value index from NeighborhoodScout puts the same five-year figures at roughly 54 percent and 50 percent. Same destination, different ride.
The path is the real story. New Albany front-loaded nearly all of its gains in the 2021 and 2022 boom, posting back-to-back jumps near 20 percent, then went flat to choppy, including a 6.6 percent dip in 2025. Olentangy climbed more evenly and has stayed positive. One is a sprinter that already ran. The other is a steady compounder.
Velocity tells the same story. In early 2026, the New Albany-Plain district was averaging about 20 days on market against roughly 56 days in Olentangy. New Albany is the thinner market, around 250 sales a year, where a handful of high-end closings swing the median hard. Olentangy is far deeper, around 1,400 sales a year, which makes it more liquid and more predictable for both buyers and sellers. New Albany commands a higher price per square foot, about $300 against roughly $245. Both remained seller-leaning markets, with about two to two and a half months of supply.
If you are selling in New Albany, that thin, top-tier market rewards precise pricing and move-in-ready presentation. A current home value estimate is the right first step before you list. If you are buying in Lewis Center, the deeper market and longer days on market give you a little more room to act deliberately.
How do New Albany and Olentangy schools compare?
This is the question behind the question for most people moving between these two. Both districts are genuinely elite, and the objective ratings back that up. I will give you the measured numbers and the sources, not adjectives.
| Measure | New Albany HS / NA-Plain | Olentangy HS / Olentangy LSD |
|---|---|---|
| US News Ohio rank | #30 | #16 |
| US News national rank | #787 | #523 |
| GreatSchools, high school | 9/10 | 9/10 |
| GreatSchools, middle school | 8/10 (New Albany MS) | 10/10 (Shanahan) |
| Average ACT | 29 | 29 |
| Average SAT | 1,310 | 1,330 |
| Graduation rate | 97% | 99% |
| Per-pupil spending | about $26,500 | about $16,500 |
| Student-teacher ratio | 17 to 1 | 20 to 1 |
| Ohio Report Card | 5 stars | 5 stars |
| National Blue Ribbon | No | Yes (1999, 2022) |
Sources are US News and World Report Best High Schools, GreatSchools.org, Niche.com, and the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce report cards.
Read it straight and a surprising thing falls out. On raw academic rankings, the Olentangy schools actually edge New Albany. Olentangy High School ranks #16 in Ohio against #30, with a higher average SAT, a higher graduation rate, a 10 out of 10 feeder middle school in Shanahan, and two federal National Blue Ribbon awards. Where New Albany pulls ahead is investment and scale: it spends notably more per student, runs smaller classes at 17 to 1, and operates as a single intimate campus of about 5,000 students rather than a 24,000-student district with four high schools.
One note on a common claim. New Albany is sometimes called a Blue Ribbon school. That refers to a 2004 award from a private program, not the US Department of Education's National Blue Ribbon. New Albany's strongest verifiable credentials are its Ohio 5-star report card and its Niche ranking as the #5 district in Ohio. Olentangy High School is the genuine two-time federal Blue Ribbon winner.
Olentangy is large, so the assigned schools depend on the exact address. As one example, homes in the Ketch Street area feed Alum Creek Elementary, which holds a 9 out of 10 GreatSchools rating, then Shanahan Middle at 10 out of 10, then Olentangy High School at 9 out of 10. Always confirm the assigned schools for any specific address with the district before you decide.
The takeaway for anyone moving from New Albany to Lewis Center: you are not trading down academically. You are trading a boutique, high-investment district for a larger, higher-ranked one.
What does each place feel like?
New Albany has a look, and it is on purpose. The community was master-planned starting in the late 1980s, and the signature is everywhere: Georgian and Federal red brick, white post-and-board fences, tree-lined streets that nod to 18th-century estate country. The heart of it is a walkable Village Center, a genuine rarity in suburban Columbus, anchored by Market Square where you can park once and reach the library, restaurants, and the K-12 campus on foot. Even the newest mixed-use builds keep the brick exteriors and go contemporary inside.
Lewis Center has a different personality entirely. It is newer, more spread out, and built around the outdoors. This is Olentangy country, with newer construction, more land per dollar, and a town-center experiment in Evans Farm, one of Ohio's first New Urbanism communities, where four-story residential sits above ground-floor retail. The aesthetic is less historic-village and more trails, water, and room to breathe.
What amenities does each area have?
New Albany leans into recreation and wellness. The community maintains more than 80 miles of leisure trails and over 2,000 acres of green space, including Rose Run Park in the civic core and the 1,200-acre Rocky Fork Metro Park with running and horse trails. The private New Albany Country Club runs a 27-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, a large racquet complex with clay courts and pickleball, and a 30,000-square-foot fitness facility. The Philip Heit Center anchors a wellness district built in partnership with OSU Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children's Hospital. And next door sits the New Albany International Business Park, roughly 12,000 acres and the birthplace of Ohio's data-center boom, with major investment from Amazon Web Services, Google, Meta, and Microsoft, plus Intel's committed chip-manufacturing project, where construction timelines have shifted.
Lewis Center answers with water and trails. Alum Creek State Park sits right to the east and holds the largest inland beach in Ohio, a 240-slip marina, 38 miles of bridle trails, and more than 20 miles of mountain-bike trails. Highbanks Metro Park along US-23 adds forested bluffs over the Olentangy, and the paved Olentangy Trail runs north from Columbus toward the area. The 56-acre Jennings Sports Park opened in 2025 on the edge of Evans Farm. On the jobs front, the Polaris corridor just south is the employment anchor, headlined by JPMorgan Chase's McCoy Center campus.
The contrast is clean. New Albany's amenities are a private club, a wellness campus, and a tech corridor. Lewis Center's are a state park beach, a marina, and miles of public trails.
What is there to eat and do in each area?
In New Albany, Hudson 29 Kitchen and Drink, a Cameron Mitchell concept on Market Street, is the marquee Village Center table. Market Square and the newer Market and Main district fill in restaurants and retail, with a Columbus Metropolitan Library branch and coffee in walking distance. For arts, the 786-seat McCoy Center for the Arts hosts the New Albany Symphony Orchestra. The signature annual event is New Albany Founders Day, a festival and parade running since 1976, set for May 16 in 2026 at Rose Run Park. The Healthy New Albany Farmers Market runs Thursday evenings in Market Square through the summer.
The Powell and Lewis Center area trades the polished village for a looser, more local scene. Standardized Brewing on Evans Farm Drive and Olentangy River Brewing Company cover craft beer, and Crimson Cup, a Columbus-born roaster, opened a Lewis Center cafe in 2024. Polaris Fashion Place just south is the region's major mall, with Molly Woo's and nearby Marcella's Italian Kitchen. Across the river, downtown Powell has grown a real dining scene with spots like Novella Osteria and the rooftop bar Lani. Evans Farm hosts seasonal festivals, outdoor movie nights, and a Saturday farmers market. And the area's anchor attraction needs no introduction: the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium sits right next door in Powell, with Olentangy Caverns a short drive north and the free Powell Festival each June.
Which one fits you?
New Albany fits the buyer who wants prestige and polish: a walkable brick village, country-club life, a concierge-grade wellness district, top per-pupil school investment, and proximity to the fastest-growing tech corridor in the state. You pay a premium for the brand, the brick, and the walkability, and the data says you are buying into a market that already ran hard and now moves in fits.
Lewis Center fits the buyer who wants more home and land per dollar, a top-ranked Olentangy school assignment, and a lifestyle built around Alum Creek's beach and marina, the Olentangy Trail, the Columbus Zoo, and the Evans Farm town center, with Polaris jobs and shopping minutes away. It is not New Albany's historic-village prestige. It is open water, trails, and steadier value.
Neither is a step down. They are two different versions of a top-tier Central Ohio address, and the right one depends on what you want your Saturdays to look like.
If you are selling in one and buying in the other, that is exactly the move I help people make. Start with a real home value estimate on the home you are selling, then book a buyer call at calendly.com/adam-geuy and I will pull street-level comps and school assignments for whatever you are targeting.
Adam Geuy, Realtor, NextHome Experience | 937-239-2919 | calendly.com/adam-geuy
Each office is independently owned and operated.
Common questions
Is New Albany or Lewis Center more expensive?
New Albany is the higher-priced market. Per the Columbus REALTORS MLS, the New Albany-Plain Local School District median sale price was $640,000 in 2025, while the Olentangy Local School District median was $569,900. New Albany also carries a higher price per square foot. Both sit well above the Central Ohio regional median of roughly $327,500.
How do New Albany and Olentangy school ratings compare?
Both rank among Ohio's strongest on objective measures. By US News, New Albany High School is ranked #30 in Ohio and Olentangy High School is ranked #16. Both carry a 9 out of 10 GreatSchools rating. Olentangy High School is a two-time National Blue Ribbon School (1999 and 2022). New Albany-Plain Local spends more per student, about $26,500 versus about $16,500, with a smaller 17 to 1 student-teacher ratio. Always confirm the assigned school for a specific address before making a decision.
Which has appreciated more, New Albany or Lewis Center?
Over five years they are nearly even. From 2020 to 2025, the New Albany-Plain district median rose about 45.5 percent and the Olentangy district median rose about 42.5 percent, per Columbus REALTORS MLS data. The difference is the path: New Albany front-loaded its gains in the 2021 and 2022 boom and has been flat to choppy since, while Olentangy compounded more steadily.
How far is Lewis Center from downtown Columbus?
Lewis Center sits about 25 to 30 minutes north of downtown Columbus via US-23 or I-71. New Albany sits closer, about 10 to 15 minutes northeast of downtown via I-670 and SR-161. The two suburbs are on opposite arcs of the I-270 outerbelt, roughly a 30 to 40 minute drive apart.
What school district is Lewis Center in?
Lewis Center is served by the Olentangy Local School District, one of the largest districts in Ohio with 29 schools and four high schools. The specific feeder schools depend on the address. As one example, homes in the Ketch Street area feed Alum Creek Elementary, Olentangy Shanahan Middle School, and Olentangy High School. Confirm the assigned schools for any address with the district.