Marion, OH

Micro Area Profile

65,020 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Marion, OH micropolitan area.

49out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 23% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity662nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured36
Schools668th of 695 metro and micro areas measured10
Growth719th of 834 metro and micro areas measured27
Housing affordabilityTop 47% of 835 metro and micro areas measured74
Climate522nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured62
Physical resilienceTop 11% of 835 metro and micro areas measured83
AccessTop 39% of 835 metro and micro areas measured82
Economic stability735th of 835 metro and micro areas measured18
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 3.6% and the Opportunity signal places Marion in the bottom 21%.

In the public schools here, 53% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.6 students for every teacher.

48 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, essentially level with 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
65,020
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$59,371
Bottom 25% nationally
Density
161/sq mi
403.8 sq mi of land
Median age
40.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Ohio
Nearest major airport
MFD
38 mi · Mansfield Lahm Rgnl
Median home value
$156,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.6%, lower than in 73% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 2.3% over the past year, to 25,493 employed residents.

Median household income of $59,371 is lower than in 75% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$4,3082024 ACS 5-Year$59,371Bottom 25%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,3062024 ACS 5-Year$30,260Bottom 18%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year16.4%Bottom 22%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year25.3 minBottom 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year14.7%Bottom 4%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year82.3%88th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202625,493Bottom 36%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.7%Bottom 31%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.3%Bottom 19%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202626,45035th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year65.1%Bottom 5%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%73rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.5%Top 3%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.6%Top 27%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year6.2%24th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/077.03.1
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.

53% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 54% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.6 students for every full-time teacher across 22 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
23
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.6
across 22 of them
Math proficiency
52.7%
Bottom 3% in Ohio
Reading proficiency
54.3%
Bottom 3% in Ohio
The 12 largest of 23 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Ulysses S. Grant Middle SchoolMarion City91713.745%33%
Harding High SchoolMarion City91613.326%42%
Buckeye Community School - Marion · charterBuckeye Community School - Marion82445.8——
Tri-Rivers Career CenterTri-Rivers58315.8——
Elgin Elementary SchoolElgin Local49016.371%61%
Heritage Elementary SchoolRiver Valley Local48318.675%75%
River Valley Middle SchoolRiver Valley Local48118.573%66%
Pleasant Elementary SchoolPleasant Local48015.073%68%
River Valley High SchoolRiver Valley Local45518.267%77%
George Washington Elementary SchoolMarion City45216.152%48%
William McKinley Elementary SchoolMarion City44417.822%30%
Pleasant Middle SchoolPleasant Local43831.372%65%

53.0% 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 Ohio’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 $1,489 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.95% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,064, some 23% above the $864 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,064 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $42,600 a year, about 72% of the median household income here of $59,371.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $864 a month.

A median home at $156,800 costs 2.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $77,828, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
29.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,064
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$864
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$156,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Marion’s median household income of $59,371, 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-Year2.0Top 13%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year67.5%35th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±602024 ACS 5-Year27,35841st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$811Top 32%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,276Top 24%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,064Top 41%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$312024 ACS 5-Year$864Top 27%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,2462024 ACS 5-Year$156,80019th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$612024 ACS 5-Year$1,48934th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,4992024 ACS 5-Year$77,828Bottom 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.95%60th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year29.2%Bottom 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±302024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.8%70th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3642024 ACS 5-Year2,67529th 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

27/ 100
Ranks 719 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, 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 fallen 1% since 2020, to 64,976 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 48 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
48
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.7
Bottom 13% nationally
Year over year
0%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202465k65k
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.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 19°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 37.5 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MARION MUNI AP, 5.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals37.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals19°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals46°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

83 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 48% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 89% of measured US metro and micro areas.

Strong windModerate
HailElevated
Winter weatherModerate
Ice stormModerate
EarthquakeModerate
TornadoModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, inland flooding, lightning, hurricane, landslide, wildfire, drought, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche, coastal flooding.

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

8 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Mansfield Lahm Rgnl at 38 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year86.8%Bottom 32%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle38 miTop 45%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle8Top 2%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.5%Bottom 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Mansfield Lahm RgnlMFD38 mi9,001 ft
John Glenn Columbus IntlCMH43 mi10,114 ft
Rickenbacker IntlLCK55 mi11,902 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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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.

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