Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Marion's standout: it has 22 miles of trail. Overall it grades A, 80th of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts. It is healthier than 81% of U.S. towns and natural-hazard risk is low. 21% of the land in Marion is conserved, near the Massachusetts town median (19%) and above the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Only 29 of Massachusetts’ 324 towns score higher on cost of living. Marion has 2 places on the National Register.
Where Marion beats most towns.
Census counts: 918 in 1860, 5,347 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 7 maps from 1888 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Marion is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Marion. Close and well known come first.
Big draw38 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw33 mi MuseumThe Breakers
21 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
32 mi Ancient siteHMS Endeavour
33 mi MuseumMarble House
17 mi MuseumPlimoth PatuxetGillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Breakers: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · HMS Endeavour: Samuel Atkins (c.1760-1810), Public domain · Marble House: [email protected], Public domain · Plimoth Patuxet: Tr!sie, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Marion, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Marion.
Marion trades workers with New Bedford and other neighbors, is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Massachusetts.
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 65% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar. Against the 3,308 U.S. towns with household incomes like Marion’s, it is less healthy than 66%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
84% of Marion adults had a checkup this year, against 82% in Massachusetts’ towns and 79% across U.S. towns. 31% of Marion adults sleep under 7 hours. Marion beats the Massachusetts average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5.
| Marion | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 82% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 28% | 35% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 3.6% | 3.7% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Marion | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.6% | 5.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.1% | 12.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.4% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Marion school district. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| SippicanLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 369 | B |
| Tabor Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 538 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
At 10.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 56% of Massachusetts’s graded towns. Reported crimes rose from 32 to 56 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Marion’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Aucoot Woods, at 889 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. White Eagle Property | 2.3 mi | 238 |
| 2. Washburn Park | 1.7 mi | 156 |
| 3. Radio Tower Property | 1.7 mi | 108 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 74% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 136 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Marion.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Marion home is worth about $829,000, up 5.8% in a year, 27% above the Massachusetts typical home. 91% of households own their home in Marion.
| Marion | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 91% | 79% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,176 a month | $1,683 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
People 65 and older are 27% of residents (18% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 14% of residents (24% statewide). The median age in Marion is 53.8 years. 47% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 47% across Massachusetts.
| Marion | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 53.8 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 27% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 17% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 47% | 47% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.8 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Marion | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.2% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.5% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.7% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.7% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.1% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.9% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.5% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.5% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 13.8% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.1% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.3% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.5% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.5% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.1% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 24.6% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Marion has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 23° and about 37 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Marion has about as many jobs (1,770) as working residents, but only 325 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Marion for work: only 16% work in town. Jobs based in Marion fell to 1,770 in 2023, 98 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are New Bedford (8%), Wareham (7%) and Boston (6%).
| Marion | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $143,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 9% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
2 within 15 miles of the center of Marion
About 8 of every 100 Marion residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Massachusetts.
Coastal flooding makes up 15% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
2 places in Marion on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Marion.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Marion is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,347 at the 2020 census. For geographic and demographic information on the village of Marion Center, please see the article Marion Center, Massachusetts. Marion is a part of the South Coast region of Massachusetts which encompasses the communities that surround Buzzards Bay (excluding the Elizabeth Islands, Bourne and Falmouth), Mount Hope Bay and the Sakonnet River.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Marion.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion | #80 | A | C+ | B+ | B+ | A− |
| Wareham | #247 | C− | C+ | C+ | D | B |
| Weweantic | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rochester | #121 | B+ | C | A− | B | A− |
| Mattapoisett | #65 | A | C | A− | B+ | A |
| Pocasset | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bourne | #222 | C+ | C− | B− | C | A |
| Mattapoisett Center | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Weweantic, Pocasset and Mattapoisett Center aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Marion with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Marion grades A overall, better than 86% of U.S. towns and #80 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A− for health, B+ for safety and B+ for schools.
That is 7.2 years of the area's median household income ($115,863 across the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
4 notable people were born here, including Carl Ruggles and Gerard Curtis Delano.
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