Living in Marion, Mississippi: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 16.4% below the U.S. average in the parts of Mississippi outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Marion itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Northeast Lauderdale High School, about 3 miles away.
A hospital close byAnderson Regional Medical Center in Meridian, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityBirmingham is about 132 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Marion meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $193,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 19%Lauderdale County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,057 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $46,500U.S.: $80,734
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 16%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 83.6U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Mississippi outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Mississippi outside metro areas, not Marion alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,7212020: 1,742
Median age: 27.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 40%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 27%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 10%U.S.: 6%
College students: 7%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Retail (15%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (9%)
Unemployment rate: 7%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 2%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 21%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Anderson Regional Medical Center, Meridian, MS, about 5 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Marion, run by Lauderdale Co School Dist. The nearest public high school is Northeast Lauderdale High School, about 3 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Mississippi's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 82%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 93%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 36°F
July average high: 93°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 86 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 48 a year
Rain and melted snow: 60.4 inches a year
Snow: 1 inches a year
Elevation: 410 feet

Weather stations: Meridian Key Fld (9 miles away) and Topton 2 (4 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Anderson Regional Medical CenterEmergency room5

Tuscaloosa, ALCity of 114,00086

Birmingham, ALMetro of 1.2 million132

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Anderson Regional Medical Center, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham.

Lauderdale County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 5, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Marion's history on Wikipedia.

Know Marion?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Meridian, MS33,000 people, 4 miles
York, AL2,200 people, 22 miles
Decatur, MS1,900 people, 27 miles
Quitman, MS1,900 people, 27 miles
Union, MS2,000 people, 29 miles
Livingston, AL3,200 people, 29 miles

Smaller places

Nellieburg, MS (unincorporated)1,197 people, 8 miles
Toomsuba, MS (unincorporated)512 people, 8 miles
Meridian Station, MS (unincorporated)661 people, 9 miles
Lauderdale, MS (unincorporated)317 people, 9 miles
Collinsville, MS (unincorporated)1,725 people, 12 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.