Marion, Indiana

Area Profile

27,531 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Marion, in Grant County.

49out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 18% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity3,584th of 4,199 cities measured38
Schools3,753rd of 4,162 cities measured18
Growth3,793rd of 4,224 cities measured26
Housing affordabilityTop 13% of 4,218 cities measured80
Climate2,532nd of 4,225 cities measured68
Physical resilienceTop 44% of 4,226 cities measured64
Access2,800th of 4,226 cities measured88
Economic stability4,154th of 4,226 cities measured18
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 4.8% and the Opportunity signal places Marion in the bottom 15%.

In the public schools here, 31% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.6 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 7 units authorized over the past twelve months, against 16 the year before.

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
27,531
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$43,343
Bottom 14% nationally
Density
1,753/sq mi
15.7 sq mi of land
Median age
35.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Indiana
Micro area
Nearest major airport
GUS
27 mi · Grissom ARB
Median home value
$85,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.8% — higher than in all but 32% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.4% over the past year, to 11,389 employed residents.

Median household income of $43,343 is lower than in 86% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsGrant County, IN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$43,3082nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftGrant County, IN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$47,1164th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,9332024 ACS 5-Year$43,343Bottom 14%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,7142024 ACS 5-Year$24,101Bottom 17%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year28.2%Bottom 11%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year19.2 minTop 15%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year16.9%Bottom 40%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year71.6%32nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202611,389Bottom 5%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+2.7%Top 15%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.4%Bottom 35%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202611,9575th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year67.7%Bottom 22%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.0%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%73rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.6%Top 22%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.8%Bottom 32%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.7%45th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.43.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.8% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, 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

202120222023202443k38k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $43,343 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.

31% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 37% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.6 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.6
across 9 of them
Math proficiency
31.3%
Bottom 11% in Indiana
Reading proficiency
37.3%
Bottom 8% in Indiana
All 11 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Marion High SchoolMarion Community Schools1,05819.228%49%
Eastbrook High SchoolEastbrook Community Sch Corp52414.637%52%
Justice Thurgood Marshall IntrmdMarion Community Schools50013.227%27%
Frances Slocum Elem SchoolMarion Community Schools47316.332%22%
John L McCulloch Junior High SchMarion Community Schools45511.418%26%
John W Kendall Elem SchoolMarion Community Schools40915.732%27%
Riverview Elementary SchoolMarion Community Schools39317.952%52%
Allen Elementary SchoolMarion Community Schools38015.827%17%
Eastbrook Middle SchoolEastbrook Community Sch Corp35816.336%47%
Grant Regional Career CenterMarion Community Schools0———
Marion Early Childhood Ed CntrMarion Community Schools0———

69.5% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Indiana is up 51% over five years, and up 5.5% 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 $815 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.96% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $956, some 19% above the $805 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $956 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,200 a year, about 88% of the median household income here of $43,343.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $805 a month.

A median home at $85,300 costs 1.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $50,630, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
26.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$956
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$805
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$85,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Marion’s median household income of $43,343, 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
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Indiana’s figure2026 Q2+5.5%83rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Indiana’s figure2026 Q2+50.9%82nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Indiana’s figure2026 Q2+103.3%68th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year1.7Top 21%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year58.8%19th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4892024 ACS 5-Year12,92495th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$767Top 5%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,257Top 5%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$956Top 4%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$422024 ACS 5-Year$805Top 29%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,3652024 ACS 5-Year$85,30012th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$742024 ACS 5-Year$81517th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,2332024 ACS 5-Year$50,630Bottom 12%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.11%2024 ACS 5-Year0.96%49th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year26.8%Top 41%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±612024 ACS 5-Year4982nd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%55th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year14.8%79th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3902024 ACS 5-Year1,96498th percentileof 32,3302024 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.

Development Momentum

26/ 100
Ranks 3,793 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 2 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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 28,216 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 7 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Grant County, which contains Marion, gained about 0.3% 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 $43,308, below the $47,116 of households that moved out.

At 0.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
7
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.3
Bottom 11% nationally
Year over year
−56%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202428k28k
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 holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
31%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$43,308
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$47,116
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Madison County, IN 208 people · 8.6% of arrivals
  2. Marion County, IN 175 people · 7.3% of arrivals
  3. Howard County, IN 160 people · 6.6% of arrivals
  4. Wabash County, IN 154 people · 6.4% of arrivals
  5. Delaware County, IN 113 people · 4.7% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Madison County, IN 156 people · 6.9% of departures
  2. Delaware County, IN 143 people · 6.3% of departures
  3. Howard County, IN 140 people · 6.2% of departures
  4. Allen County, IN 130 people · 5.8% of departures
  5. Marion County, IN 125 people · 5.5% 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. This is the figure for Grant County, IN. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025484.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−88%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 86°F and January a low of 21°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 40.3 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MUNCIE DELAWARE CO AP, 25.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals40.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals21°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals47°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

64 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 53% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

TornadoHigh
HailModerate
EarthquakeElevated
Heat waveModerate
Cold waveModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
163
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,524
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Marion's police department reported 163 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,524.

Grant County has a modeled homicide rate of about 6.4 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 18.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 15.1 per 100,000 residents in Grant County.

Homicide
6.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
18.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
15.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
15.1
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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Marion’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 the county around Marion (Grant County) rather than Marion itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. 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 Grissom ARB at 27 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year86.1%Bottom 35%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle27 miBottom 32%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.8%Bottom 34%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Grissom ARBGUS27 mi12,501 ft
Indianapolis IntlIND67 mi11,200 ft
South Bend IntlSBN87 mi8,412 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
49
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Marion vs RichmondMarion vs Danville

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You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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
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 codes in Marion

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Marion with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Marion closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4695323,372$46,288$89,200—
4695218,189$52,880$146,70050