Columbus, OH · Issue Report

Tall grass & overgrowth in Columbus

The read computed from 30,527 reports · JAN 2025 – JUL 2026

Columbus logged about 30,500 tall grass and overgrowth reports in the last 19 months. That is about four of every ten complaints filed with code enforcement. Almost all of them carry low severity scores. These are quality-of-life reports, not emergencies. Tall grass and overgrowth reports peak in May at about twice the volume of a typical month. The rate barely moves from one neighborhood to the next. This is a citywide pattern, not a local one. The same properties come up again and again. About four in ten reports point at an address that has been reported at least three times.

4 in 10
share of all reports
30,527 reports on file
Steady
2026 vs same months 2025
+12% so far this year
May
peak reporting month
about 1.9× a typical month
Get it handled

Want it fixed?

Report the address to 311. Columbus enforces grass and weeds at 12 inches. The city posts notice, and if the owner does not mow, the city can cut it and bill the property.

The same lots come back every season, and repeat reports are what keep a chronic lot in the abatement cycle.

Know the rules

What counts?

Grass and weeds over 12 inches qualify. A wild garden bed does not.

Property owners also own their sidewalk repairs and their winter shoveling. Broken walkways and unshoveled ice are reportable at the same address.

When it gets reported

Share of the year's reports landing in each month, corrected for how many times each month appears in the data window.
January · 4% of the year's reportsJFebruary · 5% of the year's reportsFMarch · 5% of the year's reportsMApril · 8% of the year's reportsAMay · 16% of the year's reportsMJune · 15% of the year's reportsJJuly · 14% of the year's reportsJAugust · 13% of the year's reportsASeptember · 9% of the year's reportsSOctober · 6% of the year's reportsONovember · 3% of the year's reportsNDecember · 3% of the year's reportsD

Reports peak in May at about twice the volume of a typical month. The quietest month is December. A quiet autumn does not mean the problem went away. Reporting drops citywide in cold months.

All tall grass and overgrowth reports by month latest month: 2,388
2388 JAN '25 JUL '26

Where it's most reported

Neighborhoods ranked by rate, meaning each category's share of the neighborhood's reports against its citywide share, so big neighborhoods don't win just for being big. Only rates with enough reports behind them are listed.
Low Moderate Severe Critical
Open the live map filtered to exterior issues →
Each dot is one report, colored by severity. This embed shows 3,000 of the 30,527 reports, keeping every severe and critical one. The live map adds search, filters, and the Block Report.

What people describe

The words that come up most in these reports, from the complaint narratives. Counts are reports mentioning each phrase.
high grass4,822 high weeds1,231 high8,174 tall grass1,390 overgrown2,118 mowed1,098 grass weeds897 tall weeds515

Common questions

How do I report tall grass and overgrowth in Columbus?

Call 311 or file through the app with the address of the lot. Grass over 12 inches is enforceable. The city notifies the owner, then can mow and bill the property if nothing happens. The step-by-step reporting guide →

Are tall grass and overgrowth reports in Columbus going up?

They are steady. So far this year Columbus has logged about the same number of tall grass and overgrowth reports as the same months last year.

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 of tall grass and weeds, plus the smaller exterior duties that ride along with them, broken sidewalks and steps, and unshoveled snow and ice. Graffiti has its own page.

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 – JUL 2026, so month-of-year patterns will sharpen as full years accrue.