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Marion, Ohio

Marion is a small city of about 36,000 people in Marion County, Ohio. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Columbus, is about 43 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
35,587
down 1.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$119,500
Marion County prices up 22% since 2022
Household income
$47,951
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Ohio
88.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Marion General Hospital
To Columbus
43 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.7% below the U.S. average in the parts of Ohio outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood124 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.5 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 13.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town17 public schools: 9 elementary, 3 middle, 4 high schools and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byMarion General Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityColumbus is about 43 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
$119,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 22%Marion County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$856 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$47,951U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
57%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,215 a yearOhio: $2,822
Homes built before 1940
38%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
88.3U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Ohio 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 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Ohio 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
35,5872020: 36,057
Median age
39 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
10%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%

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
Manufacturing (24%); schools, health care and social services (23%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
9%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
22%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Marion General Hospital, Marion, OH, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

17 public schools in Marion, run by Marion City and Pleasant Local.

Colleges in or next to town: Marion Technical College (1,000 to 4,999 students); Ohio State University-Marion Campus (under 1,000 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Ohio'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
69%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
87%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
18°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
13 a year
Nights at or below freezing
129 a year
Rain and melted snow
39.4 inches a year
Snow
24 inches a year
Elevation
988 feet

Weather station: Marion 2 N (1 mile away). 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

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: Columbus.

Marion County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

14 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Warren G. Harding House and the Marion Downtown Historic District. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

Campus life. Check Marion Technical College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

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

Smaller places

  • Green Camp, OH305 people, 6 miles
  • Morral, OH367 people, 8 miles
  • Caledonia, OH559 people, 9 miles
  • Waldo, OH320 people, 10 miles
  • New Bloomington, OH418 people, 10 miles
  • Harpster, OH155 people, 12 miles
  • La Rue, OH674 people, 14 miles
  • Edison, OH449 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.