Groundwork

Real estate · Small-town market · Illinois

Real estate businesses in the Marion-Herrin, IL area

How the Marion-Herrin, IL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 27 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #517 of 536 scored small-town markets
#20 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois

Listings
85
6 chain locations (7%)
Official establishments
40
+90.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$385.2M
On rent and homeowner costs · $13,291 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
105
5% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
29.3
24% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
67,225
+0.2% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in the Marion-Herrin area

The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Marion-Herrin area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

For real estate businesses, the Marion-Herrin area has a Groundwork market score of 27 (lower middle): #517 of 536 scored small-town markets and #20 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in the Marion-Herrin area comes to about $385.2M a year: $13,291 per household, 20% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 5% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in.

The Marion-Herrin area has 85 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 6 are chain locations, or 7%, against 6% across the U.S. That is 29.3 per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

Official counts show 40 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Marion-Herrin area in 2023, up 90.5% from 2019. That is one for every 725 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Marion-Herrin area grew 0.2% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Marion-Herrin area compares

The same measures for Illinois and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in Marion-Herrin, IL area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureMarion-Herrin areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households29.332.738.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)105105100
Households per official establishment725543414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+90.5%+4.1%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.2%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$13,291$14,866$16,661
Median household income$65,604$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score2743

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
40+90.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
77
Annual payroll, 2023
$4M
One-person businesses, 2023
205Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
856 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
89The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Marion-Herrin area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the Marion-Herrin area

Population, 2025 estimate
67,225+0.2% since 2020
Households
28,983
Median age
42.8
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
420 sq. mi.
People per square mile
159
Median household income
$65,604
Average household income
$85,846
Median home value
$156,400
Jobs located here
28,604
Daytime population
68,042Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Marion-Herrin area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Marion-Herrin area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Real estate across Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Illinois for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Illinois, with the Marion-Herrin area marked.

Top small-town markets in Illinois

Small-town markets in Illinois ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Ottawa, IL668113.1241−1.6%#76 of 536
2Canton, IL64139.4314−2.0%#90 of 536
3Lincoln, IL611614.2217−2.5%#120 of 536
4Dixon, IL572317.2183−3.4%#165 of 536
5Sterling, IL533916.9181−2.6%#225 of 536
6Jacksonville, IL522214.5210−3.1%#238 of 536
7Effingham, IL513619.9163−0.9%#252 of 536
8Danville, IL504615.3190−3.7%#264 of 536
9Taylorville, IL502316.9177−1.5%#266 of 536
10Galesburg, IL492411.4251−4.1%#273 of 536
20Marion-Herrin, IL278529.3105+0.2%#517 of 536

Other business types in the Marion-Herrin area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in the Marion-Herrin, IL area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 85 real estate businesses in the Marion-Herrin area. 6 of them (7%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 40 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 90.5% from 2019. Another 205 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Marion-Herrin, IL area spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $385.2M a year, or $13,291 per household. That is 20% below the U.S. average (an index of 80, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 85 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 5% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 28,983 households in the Marion-Herrin area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Marion-Herrin, IL area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

The Marion-Herrin area has 29.3 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 105, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Marion-Herrin area would have about 89, against 85 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 725 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 90.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.

How fast is the Marion-Herrin, IL area growing?

Population estimates put the Marion-Herrin area at 67,225 people in 2025, up 0.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 28,983 households. Median household income in the Marion-Herrin area is $65,604, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Marion-Herrin area scores 27 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #517 of 536 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Marion-Herrin area. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in the Marion-Herrin area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Marion-Herrin area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the Marion-Herrin area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.