The Columbus Partnership's "Benchmarking Central Ohio" study, now in its second year, can be viewed as a series of annual snapshots of how Columbus compares with 15 other cities on a number of measures of vitality and prosperity.

As a new layer of data is added each year, the picture of where Columbus stands and where it needs to go becomes a bit clearer.Thus, each year's version of the report will be of greater value than the last, and central Ohio planners, policymakers and entrepreneurs should use it to shape strategies for a better future.