The following is a list of the forty largest employers in the Columbus MSA as of 2016. Asterisks denote companies headquartered locally.
| Company/Organization | Sector | Local Full-time Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Ohio State University* | Education | 29,685 |
| The State of Ohio* | Government | 22,030 |
| JPMorgan Chase | Financial Activities | 16,975 |
| OhioHealth* | Health Care | 16,000 |
| Nationwide* | Financial Activities | 11,235 |
| United States Government | Government | 10,800 |
| City of Columbus* | Government | 8,653 |
| Columbus Public Schools* | Education | 8,611 |
| Mount Carmel Health System* | Health Care | 8,448 |
| Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc. | Manufacturing | 7,400 |
| Franklin County* | Government | 6,048 |
| Nationwide Children's Hospital* | Health Care | 5,762 |
| Kroger Company | Retail Trade | 5,417 |
| L Brands* | Retail Trade | 5,200 |
| Huntington Bancshares Inc.* | Financial Activities | 4,170 |
| Cardinal Health* | Health Care | 4,030 |
| Medco Health Solutions | Health Care | 3,831 |
| American Electric Power* | Utilities | 3,527 |
| Whirlpool | Manufacturing | 2,900 |
| Battelle Memorial Institute* | Professional Services | 2,618 |
| Southwestern City Schools* | Education | 2,500 |
| Abbott Nutrition | Manufacturing | 2,055 |
| Alliance Data | Information | 2,030 |
| Emerson Network/Liebert Corporation* | Control Systems | 2,000 |
| State Farm Insurance | Financial Activities | 1,894 |
| Dublin City Schools* | Education | 1,750 |
| TS Tech | Manufacturing | 1,720 |
| Hilliard City Schools* | Education | 1,700 |
| Olentangy Local Schools* | Education | 1,700 |
| Teleperformance | Information | 1,620 |
| DHL Supply Chain* | Logistic | 1,600 |
| Giant Eagle | Retail Trade | 1,600 |
| Ashland, Inc. | Chemicals/Technology | 1,500 |
| McGraw-Hill | Publishing | 1,495 |
| Big Lots, Inc.* | Retail Trade | 1,310 |
| Chemical Abstracts* | Information | 1,300 |
| Worthington Industries* | Manufacturing | 1,229 |
| Anchor-Hocking | Manufacturing | 1,200 |
| Aetna | Health Care | 1,180 |
| Anthem | Health Care | 1,129 |
| Boehringer Roxane | Pharmaceuticals | 1,110 |
Below is a list of the largest employers in the Columbus MSA as of 2004.
| Company/Organization | Sector | Local Full-time Employment |
|---|---|---|
| The State of Ohio | Government | 26,037 |
| Ohio State University | Public Education | 17,361 |
| United States Government | Government | 13,300 |
| JPMorgan Chase | Financial Activities | 12,130 |
| Nationwide | Financial Activities | 11,293 |
| OhioHealth | Health Care | 8,398 |
| Columbus City Schools | Public Education | 8,024 |
| City of Columbus | Government | 7,919 |
| Limited Brands | Corp. Mgt./Retail Trade | 7,200 |
| Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc. | Manufacturing | 6,350 |
| Franklin County | Government | 6,218 |
| Wal-Mart Stores | Retail Trade | 6,100 |
| Mount Carmel Health System | Health Care | 5,558 |
| Kroger Company | Retail Trade | 4,632 |
| Wendy's International, Inc. | Corp. Mgt./Retail Trade | 4,500 |
| American Electric Power | Utilities | 3,900 |
| Huntington Bancshares Inc. | Financial Activities | 3,500 |
| AT&T Ohio (formerly SBC Ohio) | Information | 3,000 |
| Ross Products Division, Abbott Labs | Manufacturing | 2,800 |
| Nationwide Children's Hospital | Health Care | 2,706 |
| Medco Health Solutions, Inc. | Health Care/Wholesale Trade | 2,528 |
| South-Western City School District | Public Education | 2,516 |
| Battelle Memorial Institute | Professional Services | 2,368 |
| Retail Ventures, Inc. | Corp. Mgt./Retail Trade | 2,170 |
| Big Lots, Inc. | Corp. Mgt./Retail Trade | 2,100 |
| Discover Financial Services, Inc. | Financial Activities | 2,100 |
| Cardinal Health | Health Care/Wholesale Trade | 2,000 |
| Dispatch Printing Company | Information | 1,900 |
| State Farm | Financial Activities | 1,795 |
| National City Corp. | Financial Activities | 1,780 |
| Alliance Data Systems | Information | 1,757 |
| Hilliard City Schools | Public Education | 1,688 |
| NetJets, Inc. | Transportation | 1,650 |
| Owens Corning | Manufacturing | 1,531 |
| ARC Industries, Inc. | Manufacturing | 1,500 |
| Teleperformance (formerly CallTech Communications LLC) | Professional Services | 1,500 |
| Dublin City Schools | Public Education | 1,482 |
| United Parcel Service | Transportation | 1,445 |
| Westerville City Schools | Public Education | 1,441 |
| Ashland, Inc. | Wholesale Trade | 1,363 |