Columbus 7.9

Columbus is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is the 14th-largest city in the United States, with a population of 860,090 as of 2016 estimates. This makes Columbus the third-most populous state capital in the United States, and the second-largest city in the Midwestern United States, after Chicago. It is the core city of the Columbus, Ohio, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses ten counties. With a population of 2,021,632, it is Ohio's third-largest metropolitan area.Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County. The city proper has also expanded and annexed portions of adjoining Delaware County and Fairfield County. Named for explorer Christopher Columbus, the city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and assumed the functions of state capital in 1816.The city has a diverse economy based on education, government, insurance, banking, defense, aviation, food, clothes, logistics, steel, energy, medical research, health care, hospitality, retail, and technology. Columbus is home to the Battelle Memorial Institute, the world's largest private research and development foundation; Chemical Abstracts Service, the world's largest clearinghouse of chemical information; NetJets, the world's largest fractional ownership jet aircraft fleet; and The Ohio State University, one of the largest universities in the United States., the city has the headquarters of five corporations in the U.S. Fortune 500: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, American Electric Power, L Brands, Big Lots, and Cardinal Health. The food service corporations Wendy's, Donatos Pizza, Bob Evans, Max & Erma's and White Castle and the nationally known companies Red Roof Inn, Rogue Fitness, and Safelite are also based in the metropolitan area.