Marion County, IN

County Profile

975,809 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Marion County, IN.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

57out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 40% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 31% of 1,463 counties measured64
Schools1,346th of 1,377 counties measured7
Growth1,167th of 1,453 counties measured33
Housing affordability861st of 1,462 counties measured72
Climate779th of 1,463 counties measured68
Physical resilienceTop 35% of 1,463 counties measured70
AccessTop 6% of 1,463 counties measured98
Economic stability824th of 1,463 counties measured56
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.6% and median household income $66,346, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 32% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.6 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 1,520 units authorized over the past twelve months, 23% below the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
975,809
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$66,346
Top 46% nationally
Density
2,464/sq mi
396 sq mi of land
Median age
34.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Marion County
Indiana
Nearest major airport
IND
10 mi · Indianapolis Intl
Median home value
$224,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.6%, lower than in 70% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 0.9% over the past year, to 503,117 employed residents.

35% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 85% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$55,17240th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$66,49671st percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$9432024 ACS 5-Year$66,346Top 46%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$5002024 ACS 5-Year$37,704Top 35%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$71,716Top 16%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year14.6%Bottom 39%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.0 minBottom 48%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year34.8%Top 15%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year72.0%21st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026503,117Top 3%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+2.1%Top 26%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.9%Bottom 44%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026522,08797th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year81.7%Top 19%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year1.3%90th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.5%Top 32%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.6%Top 30%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year13.9%83rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.22.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.6% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202466k55k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $66,346 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand48,100$44,180
Retail Salespersons28,840$31,530
Fast Food and Counter Workers28,400$29,040
Registered Nurses25,800$84,230
Stockers and Order Fillers25,630$37,120
Home Health and Personal Care Aides20,590$35,060

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

32% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 39% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.6 students for every full-time teacher across 223 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
237
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.6
across 223 of them
Math proficiency
31.9%
Bottom 1% in Indiana
Reading proficiency
39.3%
Bottom 1% in Indiana
The 12 largest of 237 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
North Central High SchoolMSD Washington Township3,68217.928%54%
Franklin Central High SchoolFranklin Township Com Sch Corp3,43820.038%64%
Warren Central High SchoolMSD Warren Township3,39116.116%44%
Ben Davis High SchoolMSD Wayne Township3,31518.515%39%
Pike High SchoolMSD Pike Township3,18815.129%57%
Lawrence North High SchoolMSD Lawrence Township2,79918.823%56%
Lawrence Central High SchoolMSD Lawrence Township2,51717.618%47%
Perry Meridian High SchoolPerry Township Schools2,45518.928%60%
Southport High SchoolPerry Township Schools2,43118.320%45%
Arsenal Technical High SchoolIndianapolis Public Schools2,36014.92%21%
Decatur Central High SchoolMSD Decatur Township1,97415.120%45%
Franklin Central Junior HighFranklin Township Com Sch Corp1,79720.045%45%

61.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Indiana’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 5% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 94.7, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Metro Area is up 44% over five years, and up 3.5% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,028 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.91% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,473, some 28% above the $1,153 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,473 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $58,900 a year, about 89% of the median household income here of $66,346.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,153 a month.

A median home at $224,000 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $88,581, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
94.7

Prices here run about 5% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
30.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,473
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,153
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$224,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Marion County’s median household income of $66,346, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Metro Area’s figure202394.7Bottom 48%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.5%52nd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+43.8%43rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+106.6%71st percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.02024 ACS 5-Year2.5Bottom 49%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year56.5%4th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1382024 ACS 5-Year441,04099th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,267Bottom 23%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,907Bottom 27%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,473Bottom 25%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$102024 ACS 5-Year$1,153Bottom 19%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$2,2422024 ACS 5-Year$224,00065th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$352024 ACS 5-Year$2,02866th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$1,4142024 ACS 5-Year$88,581Top 26%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.91%58th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year30.5%Bottom 24%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±3242024 ACS 5-Year90072nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%3rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.0%50th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1,8982024 ACS 5-Year40,60899th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

33/ 100
Ranks 1,167 of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 3 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 981,628 in 2024.

Permit activity fell in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025.

Federal tax returns show Marion County lost about 1.0% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $55,172, below the $66,496 of households that moved out.

At 1.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
1,520
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.6
Bottom 29% nationally
Year over year
−23%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
31.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024982k972k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
45%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$55,172
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$66,496
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Hamilton County, IN 4,399 people · 11% of arrivals
  2. Johnson County, IN 3,636 people · 8.8% of arrivals
  3. Hendricks County, IN 3,447 people · 8.4% of arrivals
  4. Hancock County, IN 1,224 people · 3.0% of arrivals
  5. Cook County, IL 899 people · 2.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Hamilton County, IN 6,506 people · 13% of departures
  2. Hendricks County, IN 5,406 people · 11% of departures
  3. Johnson County, IN 4,706 people · 9.6% of departures
  4. Hancock County, IN 2,569 people · 5.3% of departures
  5. Morgan County, IN 1,584 people · 3.2% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420252k1k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−43%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 21°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 40.7 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 54, in the Moderate band, and about 4 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station INDIANAPOLIS EAGLE CREEK AP, 9.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year742024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals40.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals21°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year42024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year542024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals47°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
54
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
74
90th percentile index
Days above 100
4
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

70 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 57% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

TornadoModerate
Inland floodingModerate
EarthquakeElevated

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, cold wave, heat wave, lightning, winter weather, hail, ice storm, landslide, drought, hurricane, wildfire, avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Marion County records 14.6 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 22.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 32.2 per 100,000 residents in Marion County.

Homicide
14.6
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
22.2
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
32.2
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
13.6
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Marion County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Indianapolis Intl at 10 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year91.8%Top 15%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle10 miTop 9%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Top 43%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year5.7%Top 15%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Indianapolis IntlIND10 mi11,200 ft
Grissom ARBGUS60 mi12,501 ft
Terre Haute RgnlHUF66 mi9,021 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
57
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.