Best PlacesMarion County, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Marion County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Marion County ranks 2,535th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. The weather pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on transit.
The best neighborhoods in Marion County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Marion County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Marion County ranks high
- TransitBetter than 81% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 79% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 72% of counties
- Short commute21.1 minutes each way, better than 72% of counties
- BikingBetter than 72% of counties
Where Marion County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 54 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of counties
- School gradeD, better than only 6% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Marion County
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Marion County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,843, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Marion County's effective rate of 1.55%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Marion County
Marion County's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Marion County.
Who works in Marion County, and how
Work in Marion County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Marion County
Marion County has more parkland per resident than 95% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Marion County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Marion County growing, and who is moving in?
Marion County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from St Louis, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Marion County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Marion County, month by month
Marion County sees roughly 54 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 32° | 25° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 47° |
| July | 88° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Marion County
The nearest airport, Scott AFB/Midamerica St Louis, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 74 miles away.
The best schools in and around Marion County
Schools across Marion County average a D, better than 6% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Iuka Comm Cons SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Farrington Elem SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Flora Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top middle schools
- Franklin Park Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Floyd Henson Jr High SchC− · 28% proficient
- South Central Middle SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Patoka Sr High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Centralia High SchoolD− · 18% proficient
- South Central High SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Marion County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Marion County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Marion County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Marion County suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Marion County
Is Marion County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Marion County ranks 2,535th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on transit, a stable housing market, and state infrastructure, and lowest on the weather and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Marion County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $107,506. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $64,843 median income, cost of living beats 51% of counties.
Is Marion County safe?
Marion County is safer than 55% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $267 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Marion County?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 25. That works out to about 54 pleasant days a year, more than 2% of counties.
Is Marion County good for families?
Schools beat 6% of counties, crime safety beats 55%, and childcare runs $720 a month.
Compare Marion County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Marion County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Marion County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Marion County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Marion County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Marion County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Marion County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Marion County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Marion County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.