Mississippi · county 28091

Marion County, Mississippi: public records at a glance

What national public records say about Marion County — people, schools, health, drinking water, bridges, disaster risk, the jail, federal grants and how to vote — each with its source. A full County Commons site (the budget line by line, your tax bill, audits, local offices) isn't built for Marion County yet — not gathered, never hidden.

24,008 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.5% since 2020)
542 square miles of land · 44 people per square mile

How Marion County compares — against the other counties in Mississippi

24,008 — people: 38th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$12,851 — spending per student in its school districts: 36th highest of 81 Mississippi counties.
68.9 years — life expectancy: 67th highest of 81 Mississippi counties.
14.3% — share of adults under 65 without health insurance: 27th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
26.9% — child poverty: 46th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
79.9% — households with broadband internet: 29th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$47,020 — median household income: 53rd highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
4.0% — share of bridges rated poor: 51st highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$1,558 — federal grant dollars per resident: 11th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$15.7 million — expected yearly losses from natural hazards: 29th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.

“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.

Drinking water — public water systems serving Marion County

11 active community water systems list Marion County in the area they serve, reporting 23,060 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).

CITY OF COLUMBIA groundwater · local government · MS0460003	5,900 served
HUB WATER ASSOCIATION groundwater · public/private · MS0460008	3,260 served
BUNKER HILL WATER ASSOCIATION groundwater · public/private · MS0460001	2,700 served
MT GILEAD-IMPROVE WATER ASSN groundwater · public/private · MS0460012	2,416 served
KOKOMO-SHILOH WATER ASSN. groundwater · public/private · MS0460014	2,344 served
LAMPTON WATER ASSOCIATION groundwater · public/private · MS0460009	1,983 served
HIGHWAY 98 EAST WATER ASSN. groundwater · public/private · MS0460007	1,632 served
WEST MARION WATER ASSOCIATION groundwater · public/private · MS0460013	1,571 served

Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.

The jail — people held in the county jail

About 490 people were held in Marion County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 3,259 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 428.

Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.

Public schools — district budgets, fiscal 2023

2 school districts have their office in Marion County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.

MARION COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT1,904 students

Spent $29 million — $25.2 million to run schools, about $13,221 per student, plus $3.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.1 million local (mostly property tax), $15.1 million state, $8.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $2.7 million.

COLUMBIA MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DIST1,646 students

Spent $22.8 million — $20.4 million to run schools, about $12,423 per student, plus $1.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.4 million local (mostly property tax), $11 million state, $7.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $15.4 million.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.

Health, money and internet at home — Marion County beside Mississippi

Life expectancy68.9 years · Mississippi 71.9 years

Adults under 65 without health insurance14.3% · Mississippi 13.1%

Children in poverty26.9% · Mississippi 24.3%

Households without enough food (food insecurity)20.3% · Mississippi 18.8%

Households with broadband internet79.9% · Mississippi 81.9%

Households with severe housing problems18.3% · Mississippi 14.3%

Drug overdose deaths per 100,00034.3 · Mississippi 24.1

Residents per primary care doctor2,709 · Mississippi 1,875

Residents per mental health provider1,154 · Mississippi 436

Unemployment3.2% · Mississippi 3.2%

Median household income$47,020 · Mississippi $54,386

Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.

Disaster risk — FEMA's National Risk Index

Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Marion County about $15.7 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Relatively High.

The costliest hazards here

Hurricane$5.6 million a year · Relatively Moderate

River and inland flooding$4.6 million a year · Relatively Low

Tornado$2.1 million a year · Relatively Moderate

Hail$1.2 million a year · Relatively Moderate

Heat wave$586,571 a year · Relatively Low

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.

Bridges — condition of every public bridge, 2025

198 bridges in Marion County: 145 in good condition, 45 fair, and 8 poor (4.0%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.

Busiest bridges rated poor

N MAIN ST/OLD 13 N over DRY CREEK · built 1960	6,500 vehicles a day
COLUMBIA-PURVIS RD over UPPER LITTLE RIVER · built 1966	810 vehicles a day
DEWEY STREET over DRY CREEK · built 1969	300 vehicles a day
RANKIN ROAD over BRANCH · built 1984	100 vehicles a day
OLD RIVER RD over CYPRESS CREEK · built 1982	100 vehicles a day
SPELL DRIVE over CREEK · built 1988	50 vehicles a day

Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.

Federal grants — the money that came in, and what's open now

Federal grants paid for $38.1 million of work in Marion County in fiscal 2025, about $1,558 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.

Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.

Open now: federal grants county governments can apply for

F26AS00062: Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act FY 2026 Fish and Wildlife Service · F26AS00062	closes 2026-10-13
OVC FY 2026 Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking Office for Victims of Crime · O-OVC-2026-172699	closes 2026-10-14
BJA FY 2026 Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172661	closes 2026-10-15
FY26 Bureau of Land Management Youth Conservation Corps - Bureau wide Bureau of Land Management · L26AS00064	closes 2026-10-16
FY 2027 Notice of Funding Opportunity: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) FAA Contract Tower (FCT) Competitive Grant Program Airport Improvement Program Discretionary Grants · DOT-FAA-26-0117-002	closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Service Area Competition (SAC) Health Resources and Services Administration · HRSA-27-005	closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP Competition AmeriCorps · AC-08-20-2026	closes 2026-10-20
DOJ FY 2026 Assisting Neighborhoods and Governments with Enforcement of Laws (ANGEL) Grant Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172778	closes 2026-10-20
Long-term health outcomes of people living with spina bifida Centers for Disease Control - NCBDDD · CDC-RFA-DD-26-0222	closes 2026-10-26
OJJDP FY 2026 Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Program Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention · O-OJJDP-2026-172741	closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Veterans Treatment Court Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172714	closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172708	closes 2026-10-29

From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.

Voting

Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Mississippi are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.

Not here yet

The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Marion County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Marion County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.

More of Mississippi: the state government and every county in Mississippi.

Nearby counties: Walthall County (17 mi) · Lamar County (19 mi) · Jefferson Davis County (23 mi) · Lawrence County (28 mi) · Washington Parish, LA (29 mi) · Covington County (32 mi).