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Place dossier plate
SheetKS-MARION-KS · Marion, KS 2,010 pop · income 36th pct
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
Bloomfield · lowest
43,182
Bloomfield · lowest
43,182 median HH income
44.1% of the leader · rank #1
Venetie · near
60,750
Venetie · near
60,750 median HH income
62.0% of the leader · rank #2
Lacon · near
60,750
Lacon · near
60,750 median HH income
62.0% of the leader · rank #3
Marion · this city
60,756
Marion · this city
60,756 median HH income
62.0% of the leader · rank #4
Santa Teresa · near
60,759
Santa Teresa · near
60,759 median HH income
62.1% of the leader · rank #5
Twin Falls · near
60,760
Twin Falls · near
60,760 median HH income
62.1% of the leader · rank #6
Hayden · highest
97,917
Hayden · highest
97,917 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
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Marion on ACS population and median household income
. 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: 2,010.
Marion ranks in the 36th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
36th
percentile, household income
6th
percentile, home value
6th
percentile, median rent
📝 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, KS
Marion is a small town in Kansas, home to 2,010 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $60,756 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 6.9%. Marion's housing stock carries a median value of $89,600, and the median resident age is 47.1 years. About 25.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 60.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 12 residential building permits were authorized in Marion (Building Boom), up 500% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data.
Living costs in Kansas run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Kansas at 90.1 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $947 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $217 across Kansas, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Natural-hazard exposure scores 29.9 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very 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 population change to comparison shortlist to housing and income to schools and households to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Marion, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, local building permits, commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is Marion growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -23 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 12 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Which cities make useful reference points for Marion?
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.
Within Kansas, the closest population matches are Wellsville (2,003 residents, $67,292 income); Belleville (2,036 residents, $51,136 income); Oakley (2,049 residents, $69,778 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Cabazon, CA (2,010 residents); Hayden, CO (2,010 residents); Elsberry, MO (2,010 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Marion?
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. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 6.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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.
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 25.8% 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.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Marion?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 82.2%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
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.
Drive alone
82.2%
Work from home
4.9%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 977 workers age 16+.
Below median income · poverty 6.9% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.1 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Kansas average
C
City profile score · Marion, KS
55/100
4 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.
Cost of living A
90.1 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 C-
6.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C-
25.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$60,756
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Marion profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.1 index
Poverty rate: 53/100 (C-) · 6.9%
Bachelor's+ share: 51/100 (C-) · 25.8%
Household income: 36/100 (F) · $60,756
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 income36% higher than other cities
Home value6% pricier than other cities
Median rent6% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Marion against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Kansas only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Kansas-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Marion near the bottom of Kansas's cities
Among the 552 Kansas 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
#255 of 527
52nd percentile in Kansas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 552
0th percentile in Kansas
Median Home Value
#290 of 527
45th percentile in Kansas
Poverty Rate
#276 of 552
49th percentile in Kansas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#162 of 552
70th percentile in Kansas
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 Kansas only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
36th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Marion's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$89,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 94% 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: 1.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#354 of 15,516
More affordable than 98% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#348 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.5×, Marion sits in the affordable band:
national rank #354 of 15,516 and #348 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
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
$60,756Marion, KS median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Marion, KS 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, KS.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)25.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)6.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)60.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,010
Median Income
$60,756
Median Home Value
$89,600
Median Age
47.1
Poverty Rate
6.9%
Labor force participation
60.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
25.8%
Schools
Total Schools
3
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
1,920 residents
2021
1,916 residents
2022
1,919 residents
2023
1,914 residents
2024
1,895 residents
2025
1,897 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
12
housing units authorized
Single-Family
4
detached homes
Multifamily
8
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
2
2
0
$0.5M
2020
4
4
0
$0.8M
2021
1
1
0
$0.2M
2022
2
2
0
$0.5M
2023
2
2
0
$0.8M
2024
12
4
8
$1.4M
Permit volume increased 500% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
82.2%
Carpool
9.7%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
2.3%
Work from Home
4.9%
Other
0.9%
Based on 977 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Kansas statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $217
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Kansas at $217 (electricity about $110 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are Kansas 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
Kansas's BEA cost-of-living index is 90.1 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Marion is $947/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Kansas statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 29.9 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Kansas 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 Kansas 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, 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.