Marion County, WV

County Profile

55,909 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Marion County, WV.

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.

51out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 20% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity738th of 1,463 counties measured55
SchoolsTop 45% of 1,377 counties measured55
Growth1,434th of 1,453 counties measured9
Housing affordabilityTop 14% of 1,462 counties measured82
ClimateTop 29% of 1,463 counties measured74
Physical resilience1,228th of 1,463 counties measured30
Access1,240th of 1,463 counties measured58
Economic stability966th of 1,463 counties measured48
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.0% and median household income $67,370, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 41% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.3 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 5 units authorized over the past twelve months, against 10 the year before. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

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
55,909
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$67,370
Top 43% nationally
Density
181/sq mi
308.8 sq mi of land
Median age
40.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Marion County
West Virginia
Micro area
Nearest major airport
PIT
68 mi · Pittsburgh Intl
Median home value
$166,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.0%, lower than in 53% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 0.5% over the past year, to 24,358 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$47,85516th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$53,44535th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,1142024 ACS 5-Year$67,370Top 43%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$9692024 ACS 5-Year$34,952Top 50%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$51,853Bottom 32%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year13.6%Bottom 45%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year27.4 minBottom 39%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year27.2%Top 31%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year74.6%30th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202624,358Bottom 39%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−2.3%Bottom 22%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.5%Top 29%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202625,38139th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year76.5%Top 46%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%71st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 42%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.0%Top 47%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.0%69th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.23.3
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

202120222023202468k55k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $67,370 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.

41% of students met the state standard in mathematics, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.3 students for every full-time teacher across 19 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
21
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.3
across 19 of them
Math proficiency
41.1%
Top 46% in West Virginia
Reading proficiency
—
2018-19 school year
The 12 largest of 21 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Fairmont Senior High SchoolMarion County Schools83519.927%—
East Fairmont High SchoolMarion County Schools72517.327%—
North Marion High SchoolMarion County Schools67116.417%—
East Fairmont Middle SchoolMarion County Schools64714.443%—
West Fairmont Middle SchoolMarion County Schools59213.540%—
Watson Elementary SchoolMarion County Schools38314.742%—
East Dale Elementary SchoolMarion County Schools35213.062%—
Blackshere Elementary SchoolMarion County Schools32814.932%—
East Park Elementary SchoolMarion County Schools32112.347%—
Barrackville Elementary/Middle SchoolMarion County Schools32113.441%—
Jayenne Elementary SchoolMarion County Schools31013.567%—
Rivesville Elementary/Middle SchoolMarion County Schools29210.847%—

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 West Virginia’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 West Virginia is up 47% over five years, and up 8.7% 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 $978 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.59% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,007, some 8% above the $932 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,007 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $40,300 a year, about 60% of the median household income here of $67,370.

The typical renter household here spends 26% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $932 a month.

A median home at $166,700 costs 2.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $77,563, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
25.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,007
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$932
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$166,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Marion County’s median household income of $67,370, 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 West Virginia’s figure2026 Q2+8.7%98th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of West Virginia’s figure2026 Q2+46.6%60th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of West Virginia’s figure2026 Q2+67.7%12th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.1Top 30%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year76.7%62nd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±602024 ACS 5-Year26,27671st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$838Top 32%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,235Top 15%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,007Top 27%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$562024 ACS 5-Year$932Bottom 40%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,3532024 ACS 5-Year$166,70042nd percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$352024 ACS 5-Year$97823rd percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,4182024 ACS 5-Year$77,563Top 48%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.59%27th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year25.7%Top 30%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1592024 ACS 5-Year38952nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.5%34th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.7%54th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4072024 ACS 5-Year2,93766th 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.

Development Momentum

9/ 100
Ranks 1,434 of 1,453 published county 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 55,649 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 11 units authorized in 2025, against 3 the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 5 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Marion County 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 $47,855, below the $53,445 of households that moved out.

At 0.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
5
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.1
Bottom 3% nationally
Year over year
−50%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202456k56k
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
38%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$47,855
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$53,445
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Monongalia County, WV 419 people · 20% of arrivals
  2. Harrison County, WV 328 people · 16% of arrivals
  3. Taylor County, WV 112 people · 5.3% of arrivals
  4. Kanawha County, WV 39 people · 1.9% of arrivals
  5. Lewis County, WV 36 people · 1.7% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Harrison County, WV 362 people · 19% of departures
  2. Monongalia County, WV 347 people · 18% of departures
  3. Taylor County, WV 114 people · 5.9% of departures
  4. Preston County, WV 39 people · 2.0% 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

2022202320242025203.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−45%).

Weather & climate

7 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 25°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 44.8 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CLARKSBURG BENEDUM AP, 14.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals44.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals25°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals41°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

30 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and hail, with inland flooding alone responsible for 90% of it. Tornado is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Inland floodingHigh
HailModerate
LightningModerate
Winter weatherModerate

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

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 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 15.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 23.3 per 100,000 residents in Marion County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
23.3
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
17.9
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.
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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Pittsburgh Intl at 68 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year90.1%Top 26%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle68 miBottom 16%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 15%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year7.7%Top 29%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Pittsburgh IntlPIT68 mi11,500 ft
Arnold Palmer RgnlLBE69 mi8,222 ft
Akron-Canton RgnlCAK116 mi8,204 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
51
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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
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
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.

Cities in Marion County, WV

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.