Moving to West Marion
McDowell County gains about 3.8 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.
Where people come from and where they go, top counties
Within North Carolina, other states or abroad
Income per tax return
People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of McDowell County; flows under 20 returns are not published.
- Who moves here
- 4.4% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 1.4% from another state. County figure.
- Who arrives and who leaves
- Households moving into McDowell County report $63,600 a year in income on average; those leaving, $50,800, so newcomers earn more than leavers.
- Income you would need
- $34,600 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
- Rent or buy
- Median rent is $866 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $922 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $161,600.
- Getting to work
- 19 minutes each way on average; 6.0% work from home.
- If it is close but not quite
- Forest City, NC matches it on character. Compare the two
All 5 moving measures
| Measure | West Marion | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moved here in the past year1County figure | 4.4% | 24% below | |
| Moved from another state1County figure | 1.4% | 30% below | |
| Net movers per 1,000 people6County figure | 3.8 | above (median -0.6) | |
| Income of households moving in6County figure | $63,631 | 10% below | |
| Income of households moving out6County figure | $50,829 | 28% below |
What it costs to live here
Owner costs with a mortgage is $922, 51% below the median place.
Could you afford it?
Uses the median rent in West Marion, $866 a month. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.
Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in West Marion.
All 15 cost and housing measures
| Measure | West Marion | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median gross rent1 | $866 | 37% below | |
| Rent to income1 | 28.3% | 39% above | |
| Property tax rate1 | 0.3% | 63% below | |
| Home price to income1 | 4.4x | 16% above | |
| Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms2County figure | $1,012 | 37% below | |
| HUD area median income3County figure | $75,700 | 29% below | |
| Property tax paid (median)1 | $557 | 83% below | |
| Median home value1 | $161,600 | 49% below | |
| Home prices, 1-year change4County figure | -1.8% | below (median 3.2%) | |
| Home prices, 5-year change4County figure | 64.7% | 26% above | |
| Homeownership1 | 63.3% | 5% below | |
| Renters paying 30%+1County figure | 39.7% | 22% below | |
| Owner costs with a mortgage1 | $922 | 51% below | |
| Vacant homes1County figure | 13.6% | 93% above | |
| Median year built1 | 1983 | 0% above |
Work and pay
Unemployment is 0.0%, below the median place (median 4.9%).
All 10 work and pay measures
| Measure | West Marion | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income1 | $36,715 | 54% below | |
| Income per person1 | $22,444 | 44% below | |
| Unemployment1 | 0.0% | below (median 4.9%) | |
| Average annual pay5County figure | $48,681 | 26% below | |
| Pay growth, 1 year5County figure | 2.8% | 24% below | |
| Jobs5County figure | 15,394 | 90% below | |
| Poverty rate1County figure | 14.8% | 38% above | |
| Mean commute1 | 19 min | 23% below | |
| Works from home1County figure | 6.0% | 52% below | |
| Commutes by transit1 | 0.0% | below (median 0.8%) |
Who lives here
Household size is 2.0, 21% below the median place.
All 8 people measures
| Measure | West Marion | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population1 | 1,066 | 6646th largest | |
| Median age1 | 35.8 | 8% below | |
| Bachelor's or higher1 | 15.7% | 51% below | |
| High school or higher1 | 87.3% | 5% below | |
| Household size1 | 2.0 | 21% below | |
| Born abroad1County figure | 3.2% | 64% below | |
| No health insurance1County figure | 11.5% | 80% above | |
| Homes with broadband1 | 90.8% | 2% below |
Life in West Marion
14 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Out the door, against the typical place
Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)
Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.
All 16 schools and local life measures
| Measure | West Marion | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public schools10County figure | 15 | 67% above | |
| Public school students10County figure | 5,613 | 15% above | |
| Students per teacher10County figure | 15.3 | 1% below | |
| Restaurants and bars per 10k7County figure | 17.6 | 15% below | |
| Shops per 10k7County figure | 29.2 | 4% below | |
| Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k7County figure | 3.3 | 20% below | |
| Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k7County figure | 14.5 | 28% below | |
| Child care centers per 10k7County figure | 0.9 | 61% below | |
| Parks per 10k8 | 18.8 | 84% above | |
| Playgrounds per 10k8 | 0.0 | below (median 9.4) | |
| Grocery stores per 10k8 | 0.0 | below (median 2.1) | |
| Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k8 | 0.0 | below (median 11.2) | |
| Libraries per 10k8 | 0.0 | below (median 0.9) | |
| Named paths and bike trails8 | 0.0 | below (median 2.0) | |
| Transit stops per sq mi8 | 0.0 | below (median 0.2) | |
| National Register listings9County figure | 14 | 8% above |
Safety, weather and risk
Heat wave risk is 21.8, 76% below the median place.
No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached West Marion. Larger places are fetched first.
All 9 weather and risk measures
| Measure | West Marion | Among 6,645 places | Vs median |
|---|---|---|---|
| July average high11County figure | 86°F | 1% below | |
| January average low11County figure | 27°F | 8% above | |
| Average temperature11County figure | 57°F | 3% above | |
| Annual precipitation11County figure | 56.5 in | 29% above | |
| Natural hazard risk12County figure | 59.2 | 36% below | |
| Hurricane risk12County figure | 60.9 | 14% below | |
| Tornado risk12County figure | 56.1 | 31% below | |
| Wildfire risk12County figure | 59.4 | 3% below | |
| Heat wave risk12County figure | 21.8 | 76% below |
How it is changing
Five-year survey estimates, one point per release.
Median gross rent
Median household income
Median home value
Citytistics measures
Measures only Citytistics publishes, built from the figures on this page. Scores of 100 beat every place we track. Formulas
West Marion in 2030: where the trends point
If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 29% of the median income in 2030, up from 28% now.
Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.
| Measure | Latest | 2030 projection | Likely range | Avg. per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $866/mo (2024) | $1,100/mo | $900 to $1,340/mo | +4.0% |
| Median household income | $36,715 (2024) | $45,500 | $38,500 to $53,500 | +3.5% |
| Median home value | $161,600 (2024) | $232,000 | $169,000 to $320,000 | +6.2% |
The median home would be worth 5.1 years of the median income in 2030, against 4.4 now.
A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.
Places like West Marion
The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.
| Place | Rent | Income | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest City, NC | $813 | $35,524 | Compare |
| Clarksville, AR | $760 | $37,373 | Compare |
| Scottsburg, IN | $831 | $38,578 | Compare |
| Bolivar, TN | $808 | $39,028 | Compare |
Nearby
- Marion, NC2 mi
- Black Mountain, NC17 mi
- Morganton, NC19 mi
- Swannanoa, NC21 mi
- Forest City, NC24 mi
- Asheville, NC30 mi
Compare West Marion with
Common questions
Is West Marion a good place to live?
It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Unemployment averaged 0.0% over the survey period, lower than in 99% of the 1,242 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the lowest of 112 North Carolina places. The median household earns $36,715 a year, less than in 97% of places its size. See how it ranks with your own weights.
Is West Marion expensive to live in?
The median rent takes 28.3% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a heavier load here than usual. The median home is valued at $161,600.
What salary do you need to live in West Marion?
To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $34,640 a year. Work it out from your current city.
What places are similar to West Marion?
On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Forest City, NC, Clarksville, AR, Scottsburg, IN and Bolivar, TN.
Sources and methods
The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.
- American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
- Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
- Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
- House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
- Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
- SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
- County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
- OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
- National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
- Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
- 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
- National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).
What stands out compares West Marion with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for West Marion itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/west-marion-north-carolina
Citytistics. “West Marion, North Carolina.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/west-marion-north-carolina/
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.