Marion-Herrin, IL

Micro Area Profile

66,876 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Marion-Herrin, IL micropolitan area.

68out of 100
Area Score
Top 16% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
OpportunityTop 15% of 835 metro and micro areas measured70
SchoolsTop 6% of 695 metro and micro areas measured86
GrowthTop 43% of 834 metro and micro areas measured54
Housing affordabilityTop 29% of 835 metro and micro areas measured78
ClimateTop 26% of 835 metro and micro areas measured73
Physical resilience531st of 835 metro and micro areas measured45
AccessTop 8% of 835 metro and micro areas measured98
Economic stability506th of 835 metro and micro areas measured42
The quick read

Marion-Herrin ranks in the top 15% of metro and micro areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.5% and median household income of $65,604.

Public schools test above most of the state: 33% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 6% of published profiles for schools.

141 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 15% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

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
66,876
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$65,604
Bottom 46% nationally
Density
159/sq mi
420.2 sq mi of land
Median age
41.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Illinois
Nearest major airport
MWA
5 mi · Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois
Median home value
$156,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.5%, lower than in 77% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment grew 0.9% over the past year, to 30,669 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,4662024 ACS 5-Year$65,604Bottom 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,4062024 ACS 5-Year$37,284Top 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year13.0%Bottom 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.5 minBottom 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year26.2%Top 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year82.1%87th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202630,669Bottom 43%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+4.2%Top 9%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.9%Top 18%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202631,79143rd percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year74.0%Bottom 33%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%49th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.0%Top 11%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.5%Top 23%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year8.8%51st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.23.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.5% 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.

33% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 42% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.9 students for every full-time teacher across 21 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
24
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.9
across 21 of them
Math proficiency
33.4%
Top 15% in Illinois
Reading proficiency
42.1%
Top 1% in Illinois
The 12 largest of 24 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Marion High SchoolMarion CUSD 21,07514.719%36%
Marion Jr High SchoolMarion CUSD 274215.523%39%
Herrin C U S D 4 Elem SchoolHerrin CUSD 471213.748%45%
Carterville High SchoolCarterville CUSD 566817.142%52%
Herrin High SchoolHerrin CUSD 466213.027%27%
Tri-C Elementary SchoolCarterville CUSD 565014.157%57%
Herrin Middle SchoolHerrin CUSD 451313.522%48%
Carterville Intermediate SchCarterville CUSD 550014.343%59%
Lincoln Elem SchoolMarion CUSD 248213.439%40%
Washington Elem SchoolMarion CUSD 246513.749%53%
North Side Primary CenterHerrin CUSD 443312.0——
Jefferson Elem SchoolMarion CUSD 237613.432%32%

54.1% 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 Illinois’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,690 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.72% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,037, some 12% above the $930 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,037 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $41,500 a year, about 63% of the median household income here of $65,604.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $930 a month.

A median home at $156,400 costs 1.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $82,096, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
27.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,037
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$930
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$156,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Marion-Herrin’s median household income of $65,604, 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 to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year1.9Top 8%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year70.7%55th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±582024 ACS 5-Year32,08446th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$790Top 27%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,369Top 41%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,037Top 37%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$372024 ACS 5-Year$930Top 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,4612024 ACS 5-Year$156,40019th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1262024 ACS 5-Year$2,69071st percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,3442024 ACS 5-Year$82,096Top 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.10%2024 ACS 5-Year1.72%94th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year27.8%Top 34%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1442024 ACS 5-Year45532nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.4%39th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.2%56th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4082024 ACS 5-Year3,10134th percentileof 9352024 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

54/ 100
Top 43% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

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 67,064 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 141 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 6% are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 2.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
141
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.1
Bottom 42% nationally
Year over year
+15%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
5.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202467k67k
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 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 88°F and January a low of 25°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 44.0 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CARBONDALE SOUTHERN IL AP, 17.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals44.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals25°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals88°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

45 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and strong wind, with earthquake alone responsible for 37% 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.

Strong windHigh
EarthquakeElevated
Winter weatherModerate
Ice stormModerate
HailModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, cold wave, tornado, landslide, inland flooding, lightning, drought, 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. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

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.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
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 Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois at 5 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year87.6%Bottom 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle5 miTop 4%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Top 43%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year9.0%Bottom 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Veterans Airport of Southern IllinoisMWA5 mi8,012 ft
Scott AFB/Midamerica St LouisBLV75 mi10,000 ft
Evansville RgnlEVV79 mi8,021 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
68
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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)
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
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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
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.