Marion, Linn County, Iowa Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Marion, Iowa, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Marion, Iowa. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Marion, Iowa. The estimated population of Marion, Iowa is 41,023 people, with a median age of 39.3.

We can look at the total population in Marion over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
41,023
+2.79%
+7.92%
2020
39,910
+1.48%
-
2019
39,328
+1.63%
-
2018
38,699
+1.8%
-
2017
38,014
- -

Population of Marion, Iowa by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
90.7%
91.6%
-0.98%
Black/African American
1.9%
2.9%
-34.48%
Native
0%
0%
0.00%
Hispanic
2.5%
1.8%
+38.89%
Asian
1.8%
1.1%
+63.64%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
0.00%
Two Or More Races
2.8%
2.6%
+7.69%
Other
0.3%
0%
0.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Marion, Iowa by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 39.3 +3.42% 39.7 +6.72% 39.2 +0.77%
2020 38 -1.81% 37.2 -1.85% 38.9 -2.26%
2019 38.7 -0.51% 37.9 +0.53% 39.8 -0.5%
2018 38.9 +2.1% 37.7 +1.89% 40 +1.27%
2017 38.1 - 37 - 39.5 -

The median age of Marion, Iowa gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 2,909 -16.16% 1,873 +61.57% 2,426 3,277
10 to 19 2,630 -2.79% 2,538 +5.16% 2,531 2,567
20 to 29 2,009 +6.95% 2,412 -0.76% 2,132 2,377
30 to 39 2,938 -14.74% 2,771 +11.97% 2,514 3,098
40 to 49 2,434 +27.27% 2,592 +9.77% 3,138 2,803
50 to 59 2,442 +5.08% 2,450 +3.24% 2,561 2,515
60 to 69 1,990 +3.31% 2,249 +19.94% 2,006 2,717
70+ 1,719 +4.77% 2,058 +23.42% 1,800 2,561

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Marion, Iowa is $75,927.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Marion.

  • Under 25
    $38,456.00
  • 25 to 44
    $95,650.00
  • 45 to 64
    $89,215.00
  • 65 and over
    $57,052.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Marion, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Marion, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Marion, Iowa is currently $95,602.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

7.57% of households in Marion are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Marion against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    12.47%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    18.42%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    18.60%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    13.02%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    18.67%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    11.26%
  • $200,000 or more
    7.57%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Marion is $39,213.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Marion by the total population of Marion.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Marion, Iowa, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Marion to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    12.93%
  • Bachelor's degree
    39.88%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    12.33%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    34.27%
  • Less than high school diploma
    0.59%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Marion that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Marion over the age of 16 is 31,883.

Of those people, a total of 71.20% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Marion is 68.20%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 1,661 54.10% 6.50%
20 to 24 years 1,850 94.90% 11.10%
25 to 29 years 2,659 83.00% 3.00%
30 to 34 years 2,688 97.40% 6.80%
35 to 44 years 6,164 89.50% 4.60%
45 to 54 years 5,303 92.20% 2.40%
55 to 59 years 2,474 82.30% 0.70%
60 to 64 years 2,352 63.40% 1.90%
65 to 74 years 3,923 27.20% 3.70%
75 years and over 2,809 7.80% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Marion. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 29,518 70.50% 4.30%
Black or African American 662 86.00% 7.20%
American Indian and Alaska Native 56 100.00% 41.10%
Asian 589 81.80% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 251 50.60% 0.00%
Two or more races 807 82.20% 0.30%
Hispanic or Latino 642 76.00% 10.90%
Not Hispanic or Latino 29,238 70.50% 4.10%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Marion as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Marion is 21,755, with median earnings of $46,022.00.

Women in Marion, Iowa earning approximately 68.10% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 21,755 $46,022.00
Male 11,484 $56,966.00
Female 10,271 $38,803.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 2,521 $74,688.00
Business and Financial 1,578 $72,163.00
Computer and Mathematical 1,530 $93,678.00
Architecture and Engineering 646 $91,795.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 105 $87,279.00
Community and Social Service 495 $34,698.00
Legal 70 $43,750.00
Educational and Library 1,141 $34,750.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 270 $56,667.00
Healthcare Practitioners 1,231 $55,156.00
Healthcare Support 341 $32,107.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 164 $16,167.00
Law Enforcement 97 $90,430.00
Food Preparation and Serving 1,427 $20,470.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 421 $19,375.00
Personal Care and Service 617 $13,179.00
Sales 2,526 $33,820.00
Office and Administrative Support 2,405 $39,278.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 48 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 765 $42,386.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 508 $52,049.00
Production 1,535 $43,125.00
Transportation and Material Moving 756 $49,695.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 1,610 $94,464.00 911 $49,226.00
Business and Financial 799 $80,762.00 779 $66,114.00
Computer and Mathematical 1,140 $96,901.00 390 $88,226.00
Architecture and Engineering 596 $100,250.00 50 $55,750.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 68 $96,518.00 37 $56,917.00
Community and Social Service 163 $29,517.00 332 $40,000.00
Legal 14 $0.00 56 $39,615.00
Educational and Library 140 $75,000.00 1,001 $29,861.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 130 $42,000.00 140 $60,486.00
Healthcare Practitioners 91 $88,304.00 1,140 $54,527.00
Healthcare Support 74 $0.00 267 $30,321.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 144 $27,885.00 20 $0.00
Law Enforcement 81 $91,055.00 16 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 654 $18,917.00 773 $20,660.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 337 $20,313.00 84 $18,934.00
Personal Care and Service 160 $14,875.00 457 $12,234.00
Sales 1,279 $68,207.00 1,247 $20,853.00
Office and Administrative Support 580 $38,750.00 1,825 $39,479.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 48 $0.00 0 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 765 $42,386.00 0 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 494 $52,336.00 14 $0.00
Production 1,041 $43,330.00 494 $41,574.00
Transportation and Material Moving 714 $49,939.00 42 $6,500.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 16,638 households in Marion, with an average household size of 2.45 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 10,617 families in Marion with an average family size of 3.07 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 8,545 597 1,475 6,021
Average Household Size 3.14 3.46 3.05 1.22
Total Families 8,545 597 1,475 0
Average Household Size 3.12 3 2.85 0

Poverty

Of the 10,617 families in Marion, 5.60% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Marion:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 17,195 housing units in Marion, Iowa.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 16,638 96.76%
Vacant 557 3.24%

20.37% of the total 17,195 housing units in Marion are rental units. This is approximately 3,503 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 12,873 are occupied by the owner - or 74.86% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Marion is $811.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Marion that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    262
  • Less than $500
    504
  • $500 to $999
    1,706
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    809
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    348
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    57
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    79

Property Value

The median value of a property in Marion is $181,200.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Marion that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    825
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    495
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    3,353
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    2,550
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    3,723
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    1,717
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    188
  • $1,000,000 or more
    22

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Marion. The chart below shows the number of properties in Marion that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    1,256
  • 1940 to 1949
    196
  • 1950 to 1959
    1,328
  • 1960 to 1969
    2,268
  • 1970 to 1979
    1,958
  • 1980 to 1989
    1,486
  • 1990 to 1999
    2,852
  • 2000 to 2009
    3,378
  • 2010 to 2013
    2,395
  • 2014 or later
    78

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Marion that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    566
  • 1 vehicle available
    5,689
  • 2 vehicles available
    6,937
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    3,446

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Marion get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Marion that commute to work in a particular way.

19.8 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Marion.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    689
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    2,581
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    3,742
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    3,831
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    3,581
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    1,624
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    1,106
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    226
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    140
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    819
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    400
  • 90 or more minutes
    344

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Marion, Iowa in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.