Best PlacesMarion, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Marion, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Marion ranks 16,559th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Marion
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's strengths and weaknesses
Where Marion ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 93% of towns
- Household income$102,875 median, better than 86% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of towns
Where Marion ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,525 a month, better than only 2% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 8% of towns
- Short commute35.6 minutes each way, better than only 12% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Marion
A household needs to earn about $165,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Marion home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $102,875, so buying stretches a typical household.
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's effective rate of 0.62%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Marion
Marion runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Marion.
Who works in Marion, and how
Work in Marion centers on arts & entertainment and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Marion
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Marion.
What the weather is like in Marion, month by month
Marion sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 42° | 35° |
| April | 65° | 52° | 41° |
| July | 87° | 70° | 55° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Marion
The nearest airport, McNary Field, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 40 miles away.
The best schools in and around Marion
Schools across Marion average a C−, better than 24% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Colton Elementary SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Clarkes Elementary SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Silver Crest Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Molalla River Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
- Estacada Middle SchoolD− · 18% proficient
- Colton Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Colton High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Estacada High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Molalla High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Marion school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Marion 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 against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Marion
Is Marion a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Marion ranks 16,559th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on few empty homes, state infrastructure, and a strong job market, and lowest on childcare costs and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Marion expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $647,500. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $102,875 median income, cost of living beats 75% of towns.
Is Marion safe?
Yes, Marion is safer than 79% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $266 per resident a year.
Compare Marion with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Marion. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Marion 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 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Marion: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Marion: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Marion: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Marion: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Marion 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.
- 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.