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Place dossier plate
SheetLA-MARION-LA · Marion, LA 661 pop · income 2nd 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
Eudora · lowest
27,140
Eudora · lowest
27,140 median HH income
17.4% of the leader · rank #1
Marion · this city
27,143
Marion · this city
27,143 median HH income
17.4% of the leader · rank #2
Culebra zona… · near
27,147
Culebra zona… · near
27,147 median HH income
17.4% of the leader · rank #3
Patrick · near
27,153
Patrick · near
27,153 median HH income
17.5% of the leader · rank #4
Evening Shade · near
27,159
Evening Shade · near
27,159 median HH income
17.5% of the leader · rank #5
Stewartsville · highest
155,588
Stewartsville · highest
155,588 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
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: 661.
Marion ranks in the 2nd percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
2nd
percentile, household income
20th
percentile, home value
16th
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, LA
Marion is a small town in Louisiana, home to 661 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $27,143 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 12.6%. Home values in Marion run a median of $127,500, and the median resident age is 42.7 years. About 17.6% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 31.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Living costs in Louisiana run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Louisiana scores 88.2 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,007 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Louisiana's average monthly utility costs around $212 (state average). FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 62.4 out of 100 (Moderate).
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 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 commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Marion growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -28 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -4.5% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Marion?
Within Louisiana, the closest population matches are Wallace Ridge (660 residents, $61,136 income); Martin (674 residents, $57,684 income); Center Point (645 residents). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Cherry Valley, AR (661 residents); Ida, MI (661 residents); Trimble, MO (661 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Marion?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 12.6%, 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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
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. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 94.5%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 12.6% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
88.2 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Louisiana average
F
City profile score · Marion, LA
35/100
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+
88.2 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
12.6%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
17.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$27,143
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: 92/100 (A+) · 88.2 index
Poverty rate: 29/100 (F) · 12.6%
Bachelor's+ share: 27/100 (F) · 17.6%
Household income: 0/100 (F) · $27,143
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 income2% higher than other cities
Home value20% pricier than other cities
Median rent16% 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 Louisiana only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Louisiana-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Marion near the bottom of Louisiana's cities
Among the 477 Louisiana 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
#376 of 426
12th percentile in Louisiana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 477
0th percentile in Louisiana
Median Home Value
#235 of 419
44th percentile in Louisiana
Poverty Rate
#268 of 475
44th percentile in Louisiana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#184 of 477
61st percentile in Louisiana
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 Louisiana only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
2nd 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+)
$127,500Among the most affordablemore affordable than 80% 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: 4.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#12,379 of 15,516
More affordable than 20% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#9,434 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 4.7×, Marion sits in the moderate band:
national rank #12,379 of 15,516 and #9,434 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
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
$27,143Marion, LA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Marion, LA 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, LA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)17.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)12.6%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)31.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
661
Median Income
$27,143
Median Home Value
$127,500
Median Age
42.7
Poverty Rate
12.6%
Labor force participation
31.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
17.6%
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
623 residents
2021
618 residents
2022
605 residents
2023
606 residents
2024
604 residents
2025
595 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
94.5%
Carpool
2.7%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.1%
Work from Home
1.6%
Based on 183 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Louisiana statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $212
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Louisiana at $212 (electricity about $130 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are Louisiana 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
Louisiana's BEA cost-of-living index is 88.2 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Marion is $1,007/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Louisiana statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 62.4 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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, 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.