Home / Markets / Columbus, OH Guides / Gahanna

Neighborhood Guide

Gahanna, OH

Gahanna sits along Big Walnut Creek on Franklin County's northeast side, officially declared the “Herb Capital of Ohio” by the state legislature in 1972, and home to about 35,000 residents.

Compare Neighborhoods → Jump to Neighborhood FAQ ↓

The entrance plaza to Creekside Gahanna from Mill Street, with its glass-fronted building and fountain — Creekside Gahanna Plaza. Photo: Sixflashphoto, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What Gahanna is actually like

Gahanna was founded in 1849 by John Clark of Ross County, who named the new settlement after the “Gahanna Plantation” his father had built on land purchased from Ohio governor Thomas Worthington in 1814 (Wikipedia).

In the early 1970s, Gahanna Historical Society member Jane “Bunny” Geroux and future Ohio House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson pushed the Ohio General Assembly to designate Gahanna the state's official “Herb Capital,” a resolution it passed in 1972 even though no other town had claimed the title and Gahanna had no particular herb-growing history of its own (WOSU Public Media). The city built the Geroux Herb Gardens in 1975, added a formal Herbal Trail through its parks in 2012, and launched a nine-stop Herbal Cocktail Trail through local restaurants and bars in 2017 (WOSU Public Media).

Gahanna's population was 35,726 at the 2020 census, with a 2023 estimate of 35,159 (Wikipedia), and the city sits along Big Walnut Creek and its tributaries, Rocky Fork Creek and Sycamore Run (Wikipedia).

Home values in Gahanna

The typical Gahanna home was worth $383,831 as of May 2026, up 2.8% year-over-year, per the Zillow Home Value Index.

Evenings and weekends

Gahanna leans into its Herb Capital branding on weekends with a self-guided Herbal Trail through city parks and a nine-stop Herbal Cocktail Trail through local restaurants and bars (WOSU Public Media).

Getting around

Gahanna's Creekside district along Big Walnut Creek is walkable on its own, with restaurants and a riverside boardwalk, but most of the city's neighborhoods are laid out for driving, and a car is necessary for regular errands outside that core.

Gahanna FAQ

Is Gahanna, Ohio a good place to live?

Gahanna offers a walkable Creekside district along Big Walnut Creek plus a single, comprehensive high school district, with a mid-2026 typical home value around $384,000 — whether it fits depends on how much weight a buyer puts on that small walkable core versus the mostly car-dependent rest of the city.

Why is Gahanna called the Herb Capital of Ohio?

The Ohio General Assembly designated Gahanna the state's official Herb Capital in 1972 after residents Jane “Bunny” Geroux and Jo Ann Davidson lobbied for the title; it was a branding effort rather than a reflection of any historical herb industry in the city.

What school district serves Gahanna, Ohio?

Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools, which includes seven elementary schools, three middle schools and one high school, Gahanna Lincoln High School.

What county is Gahanna, Ohio in?

Gahanna is in Franklin County, on the northeast side of the Columbus metro area along Big Walnut Creek.

Does Gahanna have COTA bus service?

Yes, COTA's Route 46 runs rush-hour service to and from a Gahanna park-and-ride lot; Columbus's transit system is bus-only, with no light rail or subway.

Nearby alternatives*

Westerville

Westerville borders Gahanna to the north and shares Big Walnut Creek's watershed.

New Albany

New Albany sits just northeast of Gahanna along the same Big Walnut Creek corridor, with substantially higher home values.

Reynoldsburg

Reynoldsburg lies south of Gahanna and shares its Franklin County suburban character with a lower typical home price.

Compare Gahanna to these side by side →

See what makes Columbus stand out — verified, named medical, dietary, sports, and other specialty resources you won't find in most metros.

Explore Specialty Resources →

Quick facts

County: Franklin County
Transit: Gahanna's Walk Score runs around 24 out of 100. COTA's Route 46 provides rush-hour service into and out of Gahanna, connecting to a park-and-ride lot (COTA route list). Columbus has no light rail or subway; COTA buses are the only fixed-route transit in the region.
Landmarks: Creekside Park and Arboretum along Big Walnut Creek, the Creekside Gahanna riverside boardwalk and event plaza, Woodside Green Park, Gahanna-Lincoln High School, and the Geroux Herb Gardens
Commute to Downtown: Downtown Columbus is about 12 miles southwest via I-670, typically a 20-minute drive.
Flood & storm risk: Severe thunderstorm and tornado risk is the primary hazard; Gahanna sits along Big Walnut Creek and its tributaries.
more
Ohio sits near the eastern edge of what's often called Tornado Alley, and central Ohio saw a real, damaging outbreak on March 14, 2024, that produced an EF2 tornado tracking 19.5 miles through Delaware County (Raymond to Broadway to Ostrander, destroying a modular home) and an EF1 that tracked 35 miles through Licking County (Delaware to Sunbury to St. Louisville), among other tornadoes that night — a reminder that severe spring weather, not earthquakes or hurricanes, is the region's real hazard profile (Wikipedia). Gahanna sits directly on Big Walnut Creek, with Rocky Fork Creek and Sycamore Run running through the city as tributaries (Wikipedia), so parcels near any of the three waterways should be checked against FEMA flood maps.
Nearest hospital: Mount Carmel St. Ann's, 500 S Cleveland Ave, Westerville, OH 43081, is the closest full-service hospital, described by Mount Carmel as the sole full-service inpatient hospital in the northeast-central Ohio area (Mount Carmel Health System).
Property taxes: County & state rates →
Relocating here: Employers, licensing & the metro basics →
Zoning & HOA character: Local rules & HOA character →
Utilities: The City of Columbus supplies drinking water and treats wastewater for Gahanna, while the city itself maintains the local water, sanitary sewer and stormwater collection lines (City of Gahanna); AEP Ohio is the electric utility, and Gahanna runs its own “Gahanna Energy Plus” aggregation program on top of AEP's base service (City of Gahanna).

Metro context ▾

Weather facts for the whole metro are on the Columbus metro snapshot →.

Schools

Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools runs seven elementary schools, three middle schools and one comprehensive high school, Gahanna Lincoln High School (Wikipedia).