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Marion is the second largest city in Southern Illinois and serves as the region's largest retail trade center located at the intersection of Illinois Route 13 and Interstate 57. Originally platted in 1839 to become the county seat of the newly-created Williamson County it was named after the Revolutionary War hero Gen. Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion.
Today it's now home to at least 17,011 residents according to a special census conducted in November 2006, and is continuing to grow. The city's longtime municipal leader, Mayor Robert L. "Bob" Butler has borrowed Boston's moniker giving the city its slogan of "Marion: Hub of the Universe".
It sits at the edge of the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge with the Shawnee National Forest just a few miles away. Southwest of the city is the United States Penitentiary (USP) Marion, the federal government's replacement for Alcatraz which later served as the nation's first federal supermax prison
Marion is located at [show location on an interactive map] 37°43′49″N, 88°55′49″W (37.730363, -88.930237).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.5 square miles (35.0 km²), of which, 12.8 square miles (33.2 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) of it (5.18%) is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,035 people, 6,902 households, and 4,341 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,250.2 people per square mile (482.6/km²). There were 7,555 housing units at an average density of 589.0/sq mi (227.4/km²). The population of Marion continues to grow rapidly. A special census done earlier this year shows the city population raising by 900 new citizens, bringing the total population to 17,011.
There were 6,902 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25, and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city, the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,364, and the median income for a family was $39,275. Males had a median income of $31,520 versus $22,609 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,073. About 11.2% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.9% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over. |
