Dublin.

Dublin is the suburb other Central Ohio suburbs get compared to. People move here first for Dublin City Schools and second for the setting: the Scioto River runs through it, the streets are wide and green, and the median sale price sits around $655K, the highest on the west side of the metro. The typical buyer is a relocating professional or a move-up family, and the Census puts the median household income above $155,000, which tells you who is competing for these homes.

Daily life splits between two cores. Historic Dublin is the old village at Bridge and High, all stone buildings and small restaurants, and Bridge Park is the newer riverfront district across the Dublin Link pedestrian bridge, with shops, patios, and apartments. Between them you get a walkable evening that most suburbs this size do not have. Indian Run Falls and Coffman Park sit minutes from the center, and the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village takes over the north end every spring.

The commute is part of the appeal. Downtown Columbus is roughly 15 to 17 miles, about 20 minutes in normal traffic, and the OCLC, Cardinal Health, and Wendy's headquarters are right here, so plenty of residents barely commute at all. The tradeoff is price. You pay a real premium over Hilliard or Plain City for the name, the schools, and the river. If those three things matter to you, Dublin is hard to beat. If they do not, the money goes further one suburb over.