Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Marion gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $239K for a typical one, or 4.2 years of the Marion area’s $57K median household income. It grades C− overall, 205th among North Carolina's 286 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $51K, and 24% of residents live below the poverty line, and its police reported 17 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 86% of U.S. towns. 24% of residents live below the poverty line in Marion, above both North Carolina’s towns (13%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Marion has 10 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Carson House and McDowell County Courthouse.
Where Marion beats most towns.
Carson House
Census counts: 372 in 1880, 7,717 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1923 and 3 maps from 1900 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Marion is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
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 lower home prices for longer drives to work, carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of North Carolina (mostly inland flooding) and draws workers from Nebo and beyond.
7,387 jobs are based in Marion, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 5 of Marion’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Marion grew to 7,387 in 2023, 851 more than in 2013. The average trip to work in Marion is 22 minutes.
| Marion | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the McDowell County Schools. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| East McDowell Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 392 | C |
| McDowell Early CollegeLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 241 | A+ |
| McDowell Academy for InnovationTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 158 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Marion’s property crime rate is 30.7 per 1,000 residents. Marion reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 86% report less. Within North Carolina, it does better than 41% of towns.
| Marion | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 30.7 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 3.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 95% of North Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $67 per resident a year; that rating is what its B+ for hazard risk is built on.
Since 2004, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Marion.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Marion | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.9% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mcdowell Recreation Center | — | 6 |
| 2. West Marion Community Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 6,245 U.S. towns with household incomes like Marion’s, it is healthier than 58%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Marion beats the North Carolina average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14. 18% of adults smoke cigarettes in Marion.
| Marion | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 10% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Marion | NC |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 14.6% | 10.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 18.9% | 13.9% |
| More smokers | 18.1% | 13.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Homes are within reach (about $239K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 20 miles. The median property tax bill is $922, against $1,896 across North Carolina, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
51% of Marion households own their home. The typical Marion home is worth about $239,000, down 3% in a year, 28% below the North Carolina typical home.
| Marion | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 67% | 73% |
| Median rent | $762 a month | $1,086 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 27.6°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 89% of North Carolina places with climate records; July afternoons average 88.2°.
Marion has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. About 7 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Marion | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 28°F | 31°F | 22°F |
| July high | 88°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Marion. Close and well known come first.
Big draw16 mi MountainMount Mitchell
11 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
32 mi MountainGrandfather Mountain39 mi Theme parkTweetsie Railroad
17 mi Park & preserveLinville Gorge Wilderness
22 mi State parkChimney Rock State ParkMount Mitchell: Unknown, Public domain · Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Grandfather Mountain: Original uploader was KyleAndMelissa22 at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Linville Gorge Wilderness: No machine-readable author provided. Amcbride~commonswiki assumed (based on copy, Public domain · Chimney Rock State Park: Jmturner, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Marion
About 3 of every 100 Marion residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
Where Marion’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
10 places in Marion on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Marion.
City in North Carolina, United States
Marion is a city in and the county seat of McDowell County, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1844, the city was named in honor of Brigadier General Francis Marion, the American Revolutionary War Hero whose talent in guerrilla warfare earned him the name "Swamp Fox". Marion's Main Street Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The population was 7,717 at the 2020 Census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Marion.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion | #205 | C− | B+ | D | B− | C |
| West Marion | — | — | A− | — | B− | C− |
| Nebo | — | — | A | — | B− | D |
West Marion and Nebo have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. West Marion and Nebo report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Marion with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Marion grades C− overall, better than 17% of U.S. towns and #205 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades C for health, D for safety and B− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Within North Carolina, it does better than 41% of towns.
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 B+.
7 notable people were born here, including Roy Williams and Morris McHone.
