The land that was to become the city was founded in the center of Plain Township in 1837 by Nobel Landon and William Yantis.

One theory about the name is that some of the original settlers migrated from the Albany, New York, area.

[5] In 1970, New Albany was much smaller, only consisting of a small part of Plain Township that did not touch Columbus.

[5] Rapid growth in New Albany began in the 1990s, partly due to the expansion of the Les Wexner clothing empire and Wexner's construction of his mansion (the second-largest in central Ohio behind the Longaberger mansion in the village).

The original sawmill had been converted to a hardware store and was a staple in the lives of many of the residents of New Albany.

[9] The 2009 Rifqa Bary controversy occurred in New Albany after teenager Fathima Rifqa Bary ran away to Florida under a claimed threat of an honor killing by her family due to her conversion to Christianity from Islam.

[11] New Albany is situated in the headwaters of the Rocky Fork, a tributary of Big Walnut Creek.

The northwest section houses New Albany Schools and the performing arts center.

The New Albany Links golf course (designed by Barry Serafin) and the surrounding neighborhoods are in the north-central section, along with Bevelhymer Park and the headquarters of Justice.

Carmel New Albany Surgical Hospital and the new headquarters of Bob Evans Farms, Inc.

South are the neighborhoods of: Alban Mews, Ashberry Ridge, Brandon, Clivdon, Crescent, Edge of Woods, The Farms, Fenway, Hawksmoor, Keswick, Lambton Park, Lansdowne, North Of Woods, Planter's Grove, the Reserve, Tensweep, Upper Brandon, Waterston, and Wiveliscombe.

[22] Notable companies headquartered in New Albany include Abercrombie & Fitch (part of the retail clothing conglomerate built by Les Wexner) and Commercial Vehicle Group.

Other employers in the city include Discover Financial Services, Aetna Life Insurance, American Electric Power, UBS, New Albany-Plain Local School District, and the Mount Carmel New Albany Surgical Hospital.

[23] Most of the large office buildings housing these employers lie in a corridor between Route 161 and Central College Road to the north.

[28] In January 2022, Intel announced plans to build the world's largest semiconductor fabrication plant on 926 acres of land that was approved to be annexed into New Albany.

[34] In 2002, the New Albany Community Foundation approached the Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) to see if CML would build a library branch in New Albany if the Foundation would donate the book collections and computers.

[35] Inspired by the success of the library, the Village of New Albany, Plain Township, and the New Albany-Plain Local School District partnered together in the development of the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts, named after the late wife of John G. McCoy and mother of John B.

[36] The 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) brick building (located contiguous to the downtown learning campus containing the district schools) contains a 786-seat auditorium with balcony seating, a rehearsal studio, a dance studio, a scene shop, and classrooms dedicated to the performing arts.

[50] The related Family Day has many activities, including a concert, amusement rides, and displays of animals from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.