# Marion County, Kansas: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Hillsboro, Marion and Peabody 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. Construction employs 219, up 87.2% since 2019. Marion County is home to Hillsboro, Marion, Peabody Township and West Branch Township. Unemployment was 4.5% in August 2026, against 3.0% in 2019. 201 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly wind. Its power plants have 500 MW of capacity, 100% of it wind. 500 MW of operating power plants, mostly wind +1.0% total jobs since 2019, now 3,639 14.29¢ per kWh for Evergy Kansas Central, Inc residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Marion County Marion County is home to Hillsboro, Marion, Peabody Township and West Branch Township. Hillsboro2,646 residents Marion1,897 residents Peabody Township1,090 residents West Branch Township1,011 residents Peabody909 residents Goessel558 residents Centre Township471 residents Clear Creek Township445 residents Florence377 residents Liberty Township346 residents Menno Township323 residents Lehigh Township317 residents Gale Township244 residents Burns227 residents Risley Township216 residents Durham Park Township211 residents Wilson Township201 residents Catlin Township184 residents East Branch Township182 residents Lincolnville168 residents Lehigh159 residents Logan Township133 residents Grant Township121 residents Tampa102 residents And 4 smaller places. Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Eastshore, Pilsen. 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 Kansas | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 11,788 | 11,634 | ▼ 1.3% | 37th of 105 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 3,602 | 3,639 | ▲ 1.0% | 48th of 105 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $31,978 | $42,958 | ▲ 34.3% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 117 | 219 | ▲ 87.2% | 5th of 51 by growth | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.0% | 4.5% | ▲ 1.5pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 201 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Electrical contractors employ 64, at an average $53,280 a year. Evergy Kansas Central, Inc is the largest utility serving Marion County, one of 7 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 14.29¢/kWh in 2024, above the 13.97¢ median for Kansas utilities. Employers here counted 3,639 jobs in 2025, up 1.0% from 2019. 11,634 people live here, down 1.3% 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Evergy Kansas Central, Inc | Investor Owned | Bundled | 341,806 | 14.29¢ | 44% | | Evergy Kansas South, Inc | Investor Owned | Bundled | 302,508 | 14.25¢ | 32% | | Butler Rural El Coop Assn, Inc - (KS) | — | — | — | — | — | | DS&O Electric Cooperative, Inc. | — | — | — | — | — | | Flint Hills Rural E C A, Inc | — | — | — | — | — | | City of Hillsboro - (KS) | — | — | — | — | — | | City of Marion - (KS) | — | — | — | — | — | 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 | |---|---|---| | Wind | 500 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Diamond Vista Wind Project, LLC | Enel Green Power Diamond Vista Wind Project, LLC | Wind | 299 MW | 2018 | | Sunflower Energy Center, LLC | Sunflower Energy Center, LLC | Wind | 201 MW | 2023 | ## The Marion County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 3,639 | $42,958 | 1.00 | | Construction | 219 | $65,945 | 1.14 | | Electrical contractors | 64 | $53,280 | 2.44 | 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. Kansas has 24 local measures on record statewide, and 3 neighboring counties have one: [Harvey County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/harvey-county), [McPherson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/mcpherson-county), [Saline County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/saline-county). ## Marion County and its neighbors Of the 7 counties that border Marion County, McPherson 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 | 11,634 | ▲ 1.0% | 500 MW | — | — | — | | Butler County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/butler-county) | 69,484 | ▲ 4.3% | 223 MW | — | — | — | | Chase County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/chase-county) | 2,572 | ▼ 21.8% | — | — | — | — | | Dickinson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/dickinson-county) | 18,637 | ▲ 7.7% | 3 MW | — | — | — | | Harvey County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/harvey-county) | 33,580 | ▲ 0.2% | 1 MW | — | — | 1 | | McPherson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/mcpherson-county) | 30,064 | ▲ 5.2% | 331 MW | — | — | 1 | | Morris County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/morris-county) | 5,348 | ▲ 3.9% | — | — | — | — | | Saline County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/saline-county) | 53,377 | ▲ 1.1% | — | — | — | 1 | ## More of Kansas [All Kansas countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas)[Butler County69,484 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/butler-county)[Saline County53,377 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/saline-county)[Harvey County33,580 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/harvey-county)[McPherson County30,064 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/mcpherson-county)[Dickinson County18,637 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/dickinson-county) ## Marion County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Marion County, Kansas? 7 utilities have service territory in Marion County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Evergy Kansas Central, Inc, Evergy Kansas South, Inc, Butler Rural El Coop Assn, Inc - (KS), DS&O Electric Cooperative, Inc.. The largest, Evergy Kansas Central, Inc, charged residential customers 14.29¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Marion County? 2 operating plants with 500 MW of capacity. The largest is Diamond Vista Wind Project, LLC (299 MW, wind). ### 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 3,639 jobs in 2025 against 3,602 in 2019 (+1.0%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 117 to 219. ### Does Marion County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Marion County. Kansas has 24 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/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/).