Marion County, KS
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 38.36, -97.10.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 13th pct · 2,645th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 41st pct · 62nd of 105 Kansas counties · median $153,214
- 78th pct · 660th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 63rd pct · 39th of 105 Kansas counties · median +4.4%
- US counties: not published this period
- Kansas counties: not published this period
- 29th pct · 2,267th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 60th pct · 42nd of 105 Kansas counties · median 2,554
- 4th pct · 3,062nd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 5th pct · 99th of 105 Kansas counties · median $943
- 32nd pct · 2,060th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 64th pct · 38th of 105 Kansas counties · median 3.2
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $143,768 (Aug 2026), +5.8% over one year, +32.0% over five
- 13th pct · 2,645th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 41st pct · 62nd of 105 Kansas counties · median $153,214
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Marion County, KS | $143,768 · +5.8% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Zillow publishes no rent index for this area (ZORI covers about 1,400 counties)
- US counties: not published this period
- Kansas counties: not published this period
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $787 a month on $143,768 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,384 a month: 23.3% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $143,768 × 80% = $115,014, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $787/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $781 × 52 / 12 = $3,384) = 23% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $143,768 / ($781 × 52) = 3.5
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
3,700 jobs at 342 employers (2026 Q1); +0.8% jobs and +1.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 29th pct · 2,267th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 60th pct · 42nd of 105 Kansas counties · median 2,554
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Marion County, KS | 3,700 jobs · $781/wk · +0.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 486 | $1,193 | 1.63 | +3.2% |
| Retail trade | 307 | $615 | 0.85 | -3.5% |
| Construction | 193 | $1,062 | 0.99 | -12.3% |
| Accommodation and food services | 167 | $258 | 0.50 | +0.0% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 122 | $916 | 4.56 | +0.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 115 | $1,286 | 0.81 | -1.7% |
| Professional and technical services | 94 | $952 | 0.37 | -2.1% |
| Other services | 70 | $646 | 0.63 | +0.0% |
| Information | 30 | $727 | 0.44 | -6.2% |
| Administrative and waste services | 25 | $1,365 | 0.12 | +0.0% |
| Management of companies | 10 | $1,846 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 8 | $946 | 0.61 | +14.3% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
D0 abnormally dry
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
7 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 7, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| KANOPOLIS LK NR KANOPOLIS, KS | 60,470 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 80 km |
| MILFORD LAKE NR JUNCTION CITY, KS | 429,700 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 82 km |
| CHENEY RE NR CHENEY, KS | 155,700 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 93 km |
| TUTTLE C LK NR MANHATTAN, KS | 596,200 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 109 km |
| MELVERN LK NR MELVERN, KS | 177,900 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 122 km |
| POMONA LK NR QUENEMO, KS | 65,320 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 138 km |
| WILSON LK NR WILSON, KS | 197,500 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 138 km |
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
49 gauges · 0 flooding · 12 with quality panels averaging 85 % · 8 stale
Sites found: 49, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| L ARKANSAS R NR SEDGWICK, KS | flow 232.0 ft³/s · quality 80 % (5) · no flooding | 60 km |
| USGS-375350097262800 | stage 6.00 ft · quality 80 % (5) | 59 km |
| USGS-375327097285402 | DO 0.20 mg/l · quality 63 % (4) · STALE | 62 km |
| COTTONWOOD R NR PLYMOUTH, KS | flow 1,720 ft³/s · quality 67 % (3) · no flooding | 65 km |
| USGS-375332097284802 | DO 0.20 mg/l · quality 75 % (4) · STALE | 62 km |
| N COTTONWOOD R BL MARION LK, KS | flow 1,250 ft³/s | 2 km |
| Cottonwood River at Marion Reservoir | no readings | 2 km |
| COTTONWOOD R AT MARION, KS | stage 7.85 ft | 6 km |
| NF COTTONWOOD R NR DURHAM, KS | flow 23.6 ft³/s | 21 km |
| COTTONWOOD R NR FLORENCE, KS | flow 1,270 ft³/s · no flooding | 24 km |
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
13 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 13, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| USGS-380643097353001 | level 1,394 ft · 2017-01-16 | 51 km |
| USGS-375814097324702 | level 1,390 ft · 2017-01-22 | 58 km |
| USGS-375814097324701 | level 1,390 ft · 2017-01-22 | 58 km |
| USGS-375954097363802 | level 1,412 ft · 2016-12-01 | 60 km |
| USGS-375954097363801 | level 1,420 ft · 2016-12-01 | 60 km |
| USGS-375259097252901 | level 1,344 ft · 2026-10-05 | 60 km |
| USGS-375332097284802 | level 1,359 ft · 2015-05-31 | 62 km |
| USGS-375332097284801 | level 1,360 ft · 2015-05-31 | 62 km |
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
low (0.05)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.15 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$384.6 m in deposits at 12 offices of 8 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,985, highly concentrated. $98.2 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $95.0 m, grants $2.5 m), $26,537 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Central National Bank | $130.4 m · 33.9% share · 2 offices | |
| SJN Bank of Kansas | $69.8 m · 18.2% share · 2 offices | |
| Vintage Bank Kansas | $55.5 m · 14.4% share · 2 offices | |
| Marion, KS | $98.2 m FY2026 · $26,537/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $78.7 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central National Bank | $130,414,000 | 33.9% | 2 |
| SJN Bank of Kansas | $69,799,000 | 18.2% | 2 |
| Vintage Bank Kansas | $55,544,000 | 14.4% | 2 |
| Emprise Bank | $50,828,000 | 13.2% | 1 |
| The Marion National Bank | $29,753,000 | 7.7% | 1 |
| The Citizens State Bank | $23,361,000 | 6.1% | 1 |
| Cottonwood Valley Bank | $18,332,000 | 4.8% | 2 |
| Community National Bank & Trust | $6,520,000 | 1.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,985 across 8 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 8 banks with deposits in the county = 33.9² + 18.2² + 14.4² + … (5 more) = 1,985
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Social Security Administration | $69,885,725 |
| Department of Agriculture | $14,134,570 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $5,887,420 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $2,925,839 |
| Department of Transportation | $2,299,949 |
| Department of Education | $1,715,600 |
| Department of Defense | $675,784 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $497,244 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $164,523 |
That is $26,537 per covered job, against 3,700 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $98.2 m / 3,700 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $26,537
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 12.69 | 2026-10-05 | +3.3% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.60 | 2026-10-06 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 6.00 | 2026-09-22 | -14.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 6,830.00 | 2026-08-01 | +7.4% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 96.16 | 2026-09-29 | -3.2% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.28 | 2026-10-01 | +3.6% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 646,347.00 | 2026-08-01 | +1.1% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Marion County, KS: 8 findings, 2 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchMarion County, KS' years of wages of 3.5 scores 33 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 64 across Kansas counties, a gap of 32 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 32 = |33 across US counties - 64 across Kansas counties|
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchMarion County, KS' covered employment of 3,700 scores 30 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 61 across Kansas counties, a gap of 31 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 31 = |30 across US counties - 61 across Kansas counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteMarion County, KS' average weekly wage was 1.0% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +1 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteMarion County, KS' covered employment was 0.8% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +0.8 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteMarion County, KS' typical home value rose 0.6% from $142,959 in July 2026 to $143,768 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.6% = (143767.52880186963 - 142959.13725966678) / 142959.13725966678 × 100
- 143767.52880186963 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 142959.13725966678 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
Read all 8 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.