Marion, Ohio

Area Profile

35,669 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Marion, in Marion County.

52out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 26% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity3,848th of 4,199 cities measured32
Schools3,571st of 4,162 cities measured21
Growth2,710th of 4,224 cities measured44
Housing affordabilityTop 36% of 4,218 cities measured71
Climate3,210th of 4,225 cities measured62
Physical resilienceTop 20% of 4,226 cities measured82
Access3,120th of 4,226 cities measured84
Economic stability4,149th of 4,226 cities measured18
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 4.0% and the Opportunity signal places Marion in the bottom 8%.

In the public schools here, 49% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.4 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 31% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 1.8 times what its owners earn.

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
35,669
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$47,951
Bottom 20% nationally
Density
2,751/sq mi
13 sq mi of land
Median age
39.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Ohio
Micro area
Nearest major airport
MFD
35 mi · Mansfield Lahm Rgnl
Median home value
$119,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.0%, lower than in 61% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 2.3% over the past year, to 12,600 employed residents.

Median household income of $47,951 is lower than in 80% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMarion County, OH’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$45,7903rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMarion County, OH’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$46,4613rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,3542024 ACS 5-Year$47,951Bottom 20%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,2342024 ACS 5-Year$22,852Bottom 14%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year21.8%Bottom 19%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.1 minTop 26%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year10.5%Bottom 22%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year79.5%58th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202612,600Bottom 7%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.9%Bottom 25%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.3%Bottom 16%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202613,1267th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year57.0%Bottom 10%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year1.2%86th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.5%Top 2%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.0%Top 39%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year4.0%32nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/077.73.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.0% 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

202120222023202448k42k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $47,951 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.

49% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 51% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.4 students for every full-time teacher across 17 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
18
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.4
across 17 of them
Math proficiency
49.1%
Bottom 17% in Ohio
Reading proficiency
50.8%
Bottom 8% in Ohio
The 12 largest of 18 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%
Pleasant Elementary SchoolPleasant Local48015.073%68%
George Washington Elementary SchoolMarion City45216.152%48%
William McKinley Elementary SchoolMarion City44417.822%30%
Pleasant Middle SchoolPleasant Local43831.372%65%
William H. Taft Elementary SchoolMarion City37717.132%42%
Benjamin Harrison Elementary SchoolMarion City36117.248%56%

51.9% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Ohio is up 50% over five years, and up 6.2% 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 $1,215 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.02% 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 24% above the $856 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 89% of the median household income here of $47,951.

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 $856 a month.

A median home at $119,500 costs 1.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $64,740, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
30.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,064
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$856
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$119,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Marion’s median household income of $47,951, 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 Ohio’s figure2026 Q2+6.2%88th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Ohio’s figure2026 Q2+50.3%80th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Ohio’s figure2026 Q2+100.5%62nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year1.8Top 27%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year57.2%16th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4222024 ACS 5-Year14,30496th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$811Top 8%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,276Top 6%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,064Top 12%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$382024 ACS 5-Year$856Top 36%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,0352024 ACS 5-Year$119,50028th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$442024 ACS 5-Year$1,21531st percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,6022024 ACS 5-Year$64,740Bottom 30%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year1.02%53rd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year30.6%Bottom 38%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±272024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year13.0%74th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2582024 ACS 5-Year1,85997th 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

44/ 100
Ranks 2,710 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2022 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 fallen 1% since 2020, to 35,576 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 13 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Marion County, which contains Marion, gained about 0.4% 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 $45,790, close to the $46,461 of households that moved out.

At 0.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
13
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.4
Bottom 13% nationally
Year over year
+160%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202436k35k
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
+0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
19%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$45,790
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$46,461
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Delaware County, OH 353 people · 16% of arrivals
  2. Franklin County, OH 333 people · 15% of arrivals
  3. Morrow County, OH 180 people · 8.0% of arrivals
  4. Union County, OH 171 people · 7.6% of arrivals
  5. Crawford County, OH 168 people · 7.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Delaware County, OH 238 people · 12% of departures
  2. Franklin County, OH 208 people · 10% of departures
  3. Morrow County, OH 201 people · 9.9% of departures
  4. Crawford County, OH 165 people · 8.1% of departures
  5. Union County, OH 125 people · 6.1% 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 Marion County, OH. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420258.03.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+167%).

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, 3.4 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

82 / 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 49% 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 80% of measured US cities.

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. 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
364
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,376
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 364 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,376.

Marion County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.5 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 10.7 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 38.5 per 100,000 residents in Marion County.

Homicide
3.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
38.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
15.4
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 (Marion 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

8 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Mansfield Lahm Rgnl at 35 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year86.3%Bottom 36%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle35 miBottom 22%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle8Top 7%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year9.4%Bottom 41%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Mansfield Lahm RgnlMFD35 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
52
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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

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Marion with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4330253,702$55,057$154,20054