Photo: DwayneP · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Marion earn less than those in 96% of U.S. towns
Marion grades D for jobs and income and B− for walkability. The poverty rate is 20.7%, where Virginia as a whole has 9.9%. 10% of workers have no commute at all; Virginia has 18%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Marion and work: the main findings
Marion is where the jobs are
Marion has 5,671 jobs, 2.7 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 9,100 people are in town, 64% more than the 5,600 who live here. Day and night ↓
Marion draws workers from far and wide
The 5,671 jobs in Marion are filled from a wide area. Marion’s own residents hold 11% and the ten next-biggest home towns 16%; the other 73% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Marion are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 27 across Virginia. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Virginia worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The four measures behind Marion’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Marion is better than 12% of U.S. towns, #246 of 253 in Virginia. Unemployment holds Marion’s grade up (4.8%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($40,896, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Marion could be anywhere from D to C.
The daily flow of workers through Marion
On a workday 1,500 residents head out to work, 627 work right here, and 5,044 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,100 people are in Marion on a workday afternoon, 64% more than live here.
2.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting in to Marion: where workers come from
Where Marion clocks in
9% of workers
4% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
About 17 minutes each way for Marion’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Marion workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,133 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Virginia: 83% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
What Marion’s employers do
5,671 jobs are based in Marion.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Marion, 2013 → 2023: 6,045 → 5,671. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Marion’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Marion
About 22% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
For most of Marion, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Marion is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns, #195 of 253 in Virginia. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 5.7% across Virginia.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,364 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 9.4% of Marion households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Marion’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 3,900 to 7,500, and where Marion sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 7 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | South Run VA | 6,600 | $250K | 2.1% | 1.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,158 | St. Martinville LA | 5,229 | $36K | 22.3% | 9.0% | 10% | D |
| 3,159 | Ellenville NY | 4,201 | $43K | 35.0% | 4.5% | 14% | D |
| 3,160 | Marion VA | 5,555 | $41K | 20.7% | 4.8% | 29% | D |
| 3,161 | Saxon SC | 4,085 | $32K | 45.8% | 8.1% | 2% | D |
| 3,162 | Marion SC | 6,028 | $31K | 26.8% | 4.7% | 15% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,502 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Marion, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Marion: questions
What is the median household income in Marion?
$40,896 (±$8,285) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Marion?
20.7%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Marion?
17 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Marion work?
29% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Atkins (9%, 7 mi), Wytheville (4%, 25 mi), Chilhowie (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Marion walkable?
Marion is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Marion without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Marion, from the people who make the trip.
More of Marion
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.