Encampments in Columbus, Ohio

This page maps every encampment report filed with the City of Columbus, Ohio: reports of camps or people living in vehicles, and what happens after one is filed.

The process

What happens when you report

Encampment reports in Columbus route to outreach as well as enforcement. Reporting a location starts a process that usually involves notice, offers of services, and then cleanup.

Report the location to 311 as precisely as you can. Many of these sites are behind buildings, along railroad tracks, or in wooded strips without a street address.

Context

Living or working nearby?

The most reported sites are chronic. One location in this data has been reported twenty times. Cleanups without services tend to move a camp rather than end it, which is why the outreach step exists.

For trash or biohazards left after a site clears, file a separate 311 report for the cleanup itself.

Block Report

Is your building or block already on record for encampments?

Search any Columbus address to see what neighbors reported in that building and on that block.

Free · no account needed

Live map

Want to see all 1,308 encampment reports on a map?

1,308 encampment reports across Columbus, plus about 81,000 complaints of every kind, plotted block by block.

Encampments map All complaints
Open live map ↗ EncampmentsAll other

Where it's most reported

Rates compare each neighborhood's share of reports against the citywide share. This page describes where reports come from and skips ranked lists on purpose.

Reports come in at the highest rates in Franklinton and Blacklick / Brice.

For contrast, rates run lowest in Berwick among the busiest areas.

See encampment reports on the live map →

Often reported with

What else shows up at the same addresses. Address-level comparison, so this reads as a building-quality signal, not a coincidence of one phone call.
Drug activityAddresses with encampment reports are about 15 times as likely to also have drug activity reports on file.
Vacant and abandoned buildingsAddresses with encampment reports are about four times as likely to also have vacant building reports on file.→ Sewage backupsAddresses with encampment reports are about three times as likely to also have sewage reports on file.→ GraffitiAddresses with encampment reports are about three times as likely to also have graffiti reports on file.→

When it gets reported

Share of the year's reports landing in each month. Each year is scaled to its own level before months are averaged, so a year with more reports, or a change in how the city takes them in, does not tilt the shape.
January · 5% of the year's reportsJFebruary · 4% of the year's reportsFMarch · 11% of the year's reportsMApril · 10% of the year's reportsAMay · 9% of the year's reportsMJune · 11% of the year's reportsJJuly · 12% of the year's reportsJAugust · 8% of the year's reportsASeptember · 12% of the year's reportsSOctober · 9% of the year's reportsONovember · 6% of the year's reportsNDecember · 4% of the year's reportsD

Reports peak in July at about one and a half times the volume of a typical month. The quietest month is February.

All encampment reports by month latest month: 109
109 JAN '25 SEP '26

Common questions

How do I report encampments in Columbus?

Call 311 with the most precise location you can give, including landmarks if there is no address. The report routes to outreach as well as enforcement. Emergencies and safety threats are 911 matters, not 311. The step-by-step reporting guide →

Are encampment reports in Columbus going up?

Yes. Encampment reports so far this year are running about 17% ahead of the same months last year.

Where are encampment reports most common in Columbus?

Rates run highest in Franklinton, Blacklick / Brice and South Side (core), comparing each neighborhood's share of reports against the citywide share. No neighborhood is entirely without them.

Looking at a specific address?

Get the full Block Report, covering what's been reported at that exact address, the same building, and chronic neighbors within a third of a mile.

Search an address →
Source & method

What counts here. Reports that describe encampments or people living in vehicles. These are reports about places and conditions, filed with code enforcement, and this page describes those reports, not the people in them.

Data comes from official City of Columbus code enforcement records (Accela portal + ArcGIS REST API). Reports are categorized by keyword matching on complaint narratives and city record types, so counts are reports filed, not verified conditions, and automated matching can misfile individual records. The data window covers JAN 2025 – SEP 2026, so month-of-year patterns will sharpen as full years accrue.