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Place dossier plate
SheetIL-MARION-IL · Marion, IL 16,796 pop · income 31st pct · 18 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Marion
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Marion on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Cahokia Heigh… · lowest
37,975
Cahokia Heigh… · lowest
37,975 median HH income
15.2% of the leader · rank #1
Pea Ridge · near
57,273
Pea Ridge · near
57,273 median HH income
22.9% of the leader · rank #2
Kit Carson · near
57,273
Kit Carson · near
57,273 median HH income
22.9% of the leader · rank #3
Marion · this city
57,281
Marion · this city
57,281 median HH income
22.9% of the leader · rank #4
Herkimer · near
57,281
Herkimer · near
57,281 median HH income
22.9% of the leader · rank #5
Del Rey · near
57,292
Del Rey · near
57,292 median HH income
22.9% of the leader · rank #6
Hinsdale · highest
250,001
Hinsdale · highest
250,001 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Marion on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 16,796.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Marion - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Marion places in the 31st percentile for household income and the 12th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
31st
percentile, household income
25th
percentile, home value
18th
percentile, median rent
12th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Marion, IL
Marion is a small town in Illinois, home to 16,796 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $57,281 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 11.0%. Home values in Marion run a median of $145,300, and the median resident age is 40.4 years. About 27.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 55.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 85 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 150% from five years earlier. Marion's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 3399.4 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Illinois tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Illinois at 100.0 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,063 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Illinois's average monthly utility costs around $240 (state average). On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 54.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Marion's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to comparison shortlist to population change to housing and income to schools and households to reported crime to within-city variation; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Marion, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, local building permits, commute-mode shares, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Marion?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 77.2%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Which cities make useful reference points for Marion?
Within Illinois, the closest population matches are Bridgeview (16,721 residents, $65,153 income); Westchester (16,524 residents, $103,561 income); Morton (16,503 residents, $87,760 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Moraga, CA (16,790 residents); Mount Vernon, OH (16,802 residents); Vero Beach, FL (16,785 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +312 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.9% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 85 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 18 Census tracts to this city.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Marion?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 11.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
Household income
$57,281
Home value
$145,300
Value / income
2.5×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
The NCES join finds 8 public schools within the city match. 27.4% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
8
Bachelor's degree+
27.4%
Poverty estimate
11.0%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Marion?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3399.4 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 49% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
2930.7
Violent rate
468.7
Total reported rate
3399.4
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Below median income · poverty 11.0% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
100.0 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Illinois average
F
City profile score · Marion, IL
35/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share C-
27.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cost of living D
100.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate F
11.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$57,281
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
469 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Marion profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 53/100 (C-) · 27.4%
Cost of living: 40/100 (D) · 100.0 index
Poverty rate: 36/100 (F) · 11.0%
Household income: 31/100 (F) · $57,281
Violent crime: 18/100 (F) · 469 /100k
Where Marion sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Marion's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Marion highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Marion, IL (this city): home $145,300, crime 3,399/100k
Moraga, CA : home $1,597,600, crime 578/100k
Vero Beach, FL : home $392,500, crime 318/100k
Belle Glade, FL : home $141,100, crime 3,987/100k
Donna, TX : home $68,500, crime 6,060/100k
Westchester, IL : home $297,400, crime 681/100k
Morton, IL : home $238,900, crime 910/100k
Hinsdale, IL : home $999,100, crime 538/100k
Country Club Hills, IL : home $180,600, crime 2,876/100k
How does Marion compare to other US cities?
Where Marion sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income31% higher than other cities
Home value25% pricier than other cities
Median rent18% pricier than other cities
Safety12% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Illinois, Marion ranks #426 of 455 Illinois cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Marion against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Illinois only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Illinois-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Marion near the bottom of Illinois's cities
Among the 1,336 Illinois cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Marion ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Marion only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#911 of 1,311
31st percentile in Illinois
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,336
0th percentile in Illinois
Median Home Value
#523 of 1,315
60th percentile in Illinois
Poverty Rate
#411 of 1,335
69th percentile in Illinois
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#358 of 1,336
73rd percentile in Illinois
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Illinois only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
31st percentile nationally for median household income · 12th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Marion's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Marion's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Marion's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$145,300Among the most affordablemore affordable than 75% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Marion's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#4,182 of 15,516
More affordable than 73% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#382 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.5×, Marion sits in the affordable band:
national rank #4,182 of 15,516 and #382 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$57,281Marion, IL median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Marion, IL median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Marion, IL.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)27.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)11.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)55.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
16,796
Median Income
$57,281
Median Home Value
$145,300
Median Age
40.4
Poverty Rate
11.0%
Labor force participation
55.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
27.4%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3399.4
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
468.7
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2930.7
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
8
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Marion's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
16,836 residents
2021
16,741 residents
2022
16,690 residents
2023
16,857 residents
2024
17,022 residents
2025
17,148 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
85
housing units authorized
Single-Family
27
detached homes
Multifamily
58
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
5.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
34
32
2
$5.3M
2020
27
24
3
$4.1M
2021
49
41
8
$7.9M
2022
104
25
79
$10.0M
2023
79
24
55
$7.4M
2024
85
27
58
$8.3M
Permit volume increased 150% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
77.2%
Carpool
7.2%
Public Transit
0.1%
Walk
1.2%
Work from Home
13.9%
Based on 7,193 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Illinois statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $240
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Illinois at $240 (electricity about $100 , water and sewer about $50 ).
These are Illinois statewide averages, not a meter reading for Marion. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Illinois's BEA cost-of-living index is 100.0 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Marion is $1,063/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Illinois statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 54.5 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Illinois statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Marion sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Marion compares to similar-size Illinois cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.