Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Marceline’s best subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and schools and an A for civic life; its weakest is a D for health. 32% of working residents work locally in Marceline, above both the Missouri town median (13%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). On cost of living, just 12 of Missouri’s 419 towns do better. The median household income is $63K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. Marceline has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Uptown Theatre and Marceline Mercantile & Supply Company. Marceline has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Marceline beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Marceline is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 872 in 1880, a peak of 3,920 in 1910, 2,123 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1943 and 3 maps from 1953 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Marceline, 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 Marceline.
Marceline beats the Missouri average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 21% of adults smoke cigarettes in Marceline, against 17% in Missouri’s towns and 14% across U.S. towns. 35% of adults get no exercise outside work in Marceline.
| Marceline | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 17% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 30% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Marceline | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 11.4% | 8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21.2% | 15.8% |
| More smokers | 20.9% | 16% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Marceline home is worth about $177,000, down 4.3% in a year, 33% below the Missouri typical home. The median rent in Marceline is $642 a month.
| Marceline | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $642 a month | $971 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 55% | 43% | 48% |
| Households that own their home | 73% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Marceline has chilly winters and warm summers. Only 8 of the 248 Missouri towns we compare have a lower July high than Marceline.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of Marceline’s working residents works in town. Marceline’s average trip to work is 18 minutes. The top destinations are Brookfield (15%), Chillicothe (3%) and Clark Township (3%).
| Marceline | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Marceline.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Marceline's reported crime rate is well below Missouri's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2024.
| Marceline | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 7.1 per 1,000 residents | 14 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
1.4 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. Disney Complex, at 44 acres with 1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Disney Complex | 1 mi | 44 |
| 2. Marceline Baseball Park | — | 9 |
| 3. Ripley Park | 0.2 mi | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Marceline; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Marceline residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
City in Missouri, United States
Marceline ( MAR-sə-LEEN) is a city in Chariton and Linn counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 2,123 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A+.