Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Marshall is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, 137th among Virginia's 249 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its public schools beat 71% of Virginia towns on state tests and graduation. A typical home there costs about $704K, 5.6 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. 21% of residents live below the poverty line in Marshall, where Virginia’s towns sit at 7.7% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Marshall has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Waveland and Number 18 School in Marshall. Marshall is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns.
Where Marshall beats most towns.
1,480 counted in 2010 and 1,854 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Marshall is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 3 maps from 1943 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Marshall is unincorporated, so Fauquier County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Marshall.
Marshall has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Virginia; it also has poverty well above the Virginia rate and trails even towns with similar incomes on health.
Typical home values rose 3.8% in the year to September 2026. In Marshall, just over two in five households live in a home they own. Its median rent is $1,814 a month.
| Marshall | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 41% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,814 a month | $1,760 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Fauquier County Public Schools. Of its 3 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. Public school enrollment in Marshall: 781 students across 2 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 426 | C+ |
| Mountainside Montessori PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–9 | Grades PK–9 | 99 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
One declared disaster, in 2003, has brought federal aid to Marshall households. Compared with nearly three quarters of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in the town is lower. FEMA puts 69% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 7% to hurricanes.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 24.4°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 80% of Virginia places with climate records; July afternoons average 86.1°.
About 20 inches of snow falls in a winter. In Marshall, the midsummer high is 86°F.
| Marshall | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 86°F | 88°F | 85°F |
| January low | 24°F | 26°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here grew from 708 in 2013 to 1,044.
The top destinations are Warrenton (8%), Washington (5%) and Chantilly (3%). For most workers, Marshall is a place to come home to: only 6% work in town. Employers in Marshall added 336 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 1,044. The town’s mean commuting time comes in at 31 minutes.
| Marshall | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 13% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The biggest park or preserve is Northern Fauquier Community Park, at 91 acres. Across 1 park or preserve: 0.8 miles of trail. Marshall’s trail network density stands at 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Marshall | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.3% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Northern Fauquier Community Park | 0.7 mi | 91 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 9,506 U.S. towns with household incomes like Marshall’s, it is less healthy than 73%, so it trails even them.
Among adults in Marshall, 14% smoke cigarettes. Of 32 CDC measures, Marshall beats the Virginia average on 1 and trails it on 8. Two figures for adults in the town: 76% had a checkup this year, 17% worry about having enough food.
| Marshall | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 8.4% | 8.1% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 79% | 79% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Marshall | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.5% | 7.7% |
| More uninsured adults | 13.5% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Marshall. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi LandmarkMount Weather Emergency Operations Center
17 mi National ParkShenandoah National Park1.7M visitors a year
21 mi MuseumSteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center1.6M visitors a year
38 mi LandmarkCIA Memorial Wall
29 mi Theme parkLake Fairfax Park
38 mi CaveLuray CavernsMount Weather Emergency Operations Center: Unknown, Public domain · Shenandoah National Park: Image copyright 2005 by user G. Edward Johnson (user Lorax) and released under t, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · CIA Memorial Wall: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Lake Fairfax Park: Joe Loong, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Luray Caverns: Paulo Ordoveza from Washington, DC, CC BY 2.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Marshall
About 8 of every 100 Marshall residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
2 places in Marshall on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Marshall.
Census-designated place in Virginia, United States
Marshall is a census-designated place (CDP) in northwestern Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. The population as of 2024 was 3,292.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Marshall grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #137 of 249 in Virginia. It grades B− for health and B+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
4 notable people were born here, including Blake Corum and Harvey Russell.
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