# Marion County, Illinois: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Centralia Township, Centralia and Salem Township No data center or power plant project is on record in Marion County, but the national build-out still reaches it through its utility bill, its labor market and the projects next door. Electrical contractors employ 137, up 121.0% since 2019 against up 3.9% statewide, at an average $81,908 a year. Marion County is home to Centralia Township, most of Centralia (9,598 of its 11,863 residents), Salem Township and Salem. 102 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. Its power plants have 372 MW of capacity, 73% of it natural gas. Employers here counted 12,335 jobs in 2025, down 4.3% from 2019. +121.0% electrical contractor jobs since 2019, now 137 372 MW of operating power plants, mostly natural gas -4.3% total jobs since 2019, now 12,335 ## Cities and towns in Marion County Marion County is home to Centralia Township, most of Centralia (9,598 of its 11,863 residents), Salem Township and Salem. Centralia Township13,816 residents Centralia9,598 residents · 81% of the city Salem Township8,785 residents Salem7,035 residents Sandoval Township2,140 residents Odin Township1,526 residents Raccoon Township1,481 residents Stevenson Township1,138 residents Sandoval1,123 residents Kinmundy Township1,084 residents Central City1,067 residents Iuka Township989 residents Tonti Township977 residents Odin903 residents Patoka Township894 residents Haines Township834 residents Alma Township760 residents Kinmundy702 residents Junction City517 residents Patoka507 residents Iuka491 residents Romine Township478 residents Omega Township428 residents Wamac395 residents · 41% of the city And 7 smaller places. - Centralia also extends into [Clinton County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois/clinton-county). - Wamac also extends into [Clinton County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois/clinton-county), [Washington County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois/washington-county). Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Marion County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Illinois | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 37,656 | 36,382 | ▼ 3.4% | 37th of 102 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 12,883 | 12,335 | ▼ 4.3% | 73rd of 102 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $38,641 | $51,566 | ▲ 33.4% | — | | Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 62 | 137 | ▲ 121.0% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 4.4% | 4.2% | ▼ 0.2pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 102 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Ameren Illinois Company is the largest utility serving Marion County, one of 6 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 15.26¢/kWh in 2024. Unemployment was 4.2% in August 2026, against 4.4% in 2019. 36,382 people live here, down 3.4% since 2020. ## Who powers Marion County ### Utilities with service territory in Marion County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Ameren Illinois Company | Investor Owned | Bundled | 1,060,894 | 15.26¢ | 28% | | Southwestern Electric Coop Inc - (IL) | Cooperative | Bundled | 24,822 | 13.68¢ | 17% | | Tri-County Electric Coop, Inc (IL) | Cooperative | Bundled | 16,197 | 16.04¢ | 9% | | Wayne-White Counties Elec Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 11,957 | 16.58¢ | 21% | | Clay Electric Coop Inc - (IL) | — | — | — | — | — | | Clinton County Elec Coop, Inc | — | — | — | — | — | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Natural gas | 270 MW | 73% | | Solar | 102 MW | 27% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Kinmundy | Union Electric Co - (MO) | Natural gas | 270 MW | 2001 | | Crooked Creek PV I | Crooked Creek PV I, LLC | Solar | 99 MW | 2026 | | Marion Solar 4b LLC | Pivot Energy | Solar | 2 MW | 2024 | | Marion Solar 2 | Pivot Energy | Solar | 1 MW | 2025 | ## The Marion County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 12,335 | $51,566 | 1.00 | | Electrical contractors | 137 | $81,908 | 1.54 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Marion County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Marion County. Illinois has 28 local measures on record statewide. ## Marion County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border Marion County, Clay County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Marion County | 36,382 | ▼ 4.3% | 372 MW | — | — | — | | Clay County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois/clay-county) | 12,793 | ▼ 9.9% | 726 MW | 127 MW | — | — | | Clinton County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois/clinton-county) | 37,128 | ▲ 2.6% | 47 MW | 53 MW | — | — | | Fayette County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois/fayette-county) | 20,790 | ▼ 9.7% | 101 MW | 119 MW | — | — | | Jefferson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois/jefferson-county) | 36,147 | ▼ 2.4% | 2 MW | 155 MW | — | — | | Washington County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois/washington-county) | 13,564 | ▼ 6.6% | 5 MW | — | — | — | | Wayne County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois/wayne-county) | 15,882 | ▲ 2.4% | — | — | — | — | ## More of Illinois [All Illinois countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois)[Clinton County37,128 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois/clinton-county)[Jefferson County36,147 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois/jefferson-county)[Fayette County20,790 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois/fayette-county)[Wayne County15,882 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois/wayne-county)[Washington County13,564 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois/washington-county) ## Marion County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Marion County, Illinois? 6 utilities have service territory in Marion County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Ameren Illinois Company, Southwestern Electric Coop Inc - (IL), Tri-County Electric Coop, Inc (IL), Wayne-White Counties Elec Coop. The largest, Ameren Illinois Company, charged residential customers 15.26¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What county is Centralia Township, IL in? Centralia Township is in Marion County, Illinois. About 13,816 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What power plants are in Marion County? 4 operating plants with 372 MW of capacity. The largest is Kinmundy (270 MW, natural gas). ### Are there data centers in Marion County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Marion County. ### Is Marion County adding jobs? Employers counted 12,335 jobs in 2025 against 12,883 in 2019 (-4.3%, BLS QCEW). ### Does Marion County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Marion County. Illinois has 28 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/illinois/marion-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).