Marion County is a county in Florida, United States, about 35 miles south of Gainesville and 85 miles northwest of Orlando. It had a population of 375,908 at the 2020 census, an estimated 442,660 by 2025, and covers 1,585 square miles (4,110 km2) of land centred near 29\u00b013\u2032N 82\u00b004\u2032W, plus another 78 square miles of lakes and rivers.<\/p>\n
Ocala is the county seat, the region’s largest city and home of the county government complex; its postal code is 34470. The county holds 3 incorporated cities, 2 incorporated towns, and dozens of unincorporated communities and census-designated places (CDPs); Florida has no civil townships. Marion County runs on Eastern time and carries FIPS code 12083.<\/p>\n
Marion County has five incorporated municipalities — three cities and two towns — plus six named census-designated places large enough to get their own 2020 population count, and roughly two dozen smaller unincorporated communities that appear on maps and mail routes without a separate Census tally. The 2020 Census did not publish separate population figures for Summerfield, Silver Springs or Ocklawaha even though each has its own ZIP code; the table lists — rather than a guess. A further two dozen unincorporated communities and rural crossroads — Salt Springs, Weirsdale, Citra, Anthony, Fort McCoy, Orange Springs, Candler, Sparr, Lowell and Fairfield among them — have no separate Census count at all. Two pairs are easy to confuse: Silver Springs<\/strong> (the historic springhead community, home to the Silver Springs park and springhead) is a different place from Silver Springs Shores<\/strong> (a large 1960s subdivision several miles south, on the Ocala city line), and On Top of the World<\/strong> is a single age-restricted retirement community that only became its own CDP in the 2020 count — earlier data folded it into Ocala. The Villages<\/strong>, the mega retirement development, is centred in neighboring Sumter County and also reaches into Lake County; only a thin, largely undeveloped strip crosses into southwestern Marion County, so it is not counted as a Marion County place here.<\/p>\n Small crossroads communities such as Boardman, Electra, Kendrick, Flemington and York have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under the nearest post office town’s code above.<\/p>\n Marion County sits on the Ocala Uplift, a limestone ridge riddled with sinkholes and first-magnitude springs; Silver Springs and Rainbow Springs, near Dunnellon, are among the largest in the United States. The eastern third of the county lies inside the Ocala National Forest, a 383,000-acre sand-pine scrub reserve. The Ocklawaha River runs north along the county’s eastern side and the Withlacoochee River forms part of the western boundary; Lake Weir, in the southeast, is the county’s largest natural lake. Water covers about 4.7 percent of the county’s 1,663 square miles.<\/p>\n Marion County borders Alachua County to the northwest (link verified), Putnam County to the northeast, Volusia County to the east (link verified), Lake County to the southeast (link verified), Sumter County to the south, Citrus County to the southwest (link verified) and Levy County to the west (link verified). Putnam and Sumter counties do not currently have a matching Florida county page on this site.<\/p>\n Marion County counted 375,908 residents at the 2020 census and the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2025 vintage estimate puts the population at 442,660, among the faster-growing counties in Florida. Ocala (63,591) and Silver Springs Shores (24,846) are the two largest communities. Median household income was $61,010 as of the most recent American Community Survey estimate, below the Florida statewide figure of $74,568. Population density works out to roughly 237 people per square mile of land using the 2020 count, and higher using the newer estimate.<\/p>\n Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector, with about 23,400 workers, followed by retail trade at roughly 22,000 and construction at about 14,300. Marion County Public Schools is the single largest employer, with around 7,000 staff; Ocala Health and AdventHealth Ocala together employ over 5,300 more, and Walmart’s local stores employ about 2,600. Ocala is widely known as the “Horse Capital of the World,” home to hundreds of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse breeding farms concentrated northwest of the city. The College of Central Florida, based in Ocala, is the area’s community college. The largest annual event is HITS Ocala (Horse Shows in the Sun), a roughly 12-week equestrian competition series that runs January through March and generates an estimated $6–7 million a year for the local economy.<\/p>\n Marion County was created on March 14, 1844, carved from Alachua and Marion territory land, and named for Revolutionary War general Francis Marion, South Carolina’s “Swamp Fox.” Fort King, built near present-day Ocala in 1827 as a U.S. Army post and Indian agency, was the site of tension that helped trigger the Second Seminole War in 1835; it is now a National Historic Landmark. Dunnellon boomed as “Boomtown” during a phosphate-mining rush from the 1890s into the early 1910s, shipping rock down the Rainbow River. Silver Springs became one of Florida’s first tourist attractions in the 1870s, drawing steamboat and later glass-bottom-boat visitors decades before Walt Disney World existed. The county’s shift toward horse breeding began in the 1940s and 1950s, after local sandy, limestone-rich soil proved well suited to raising Thoroughbreds.<\/p>\n Interstate 75 crosses the county north to south along its western side; US 27, 41, 301 and 441 provide the main east–west and secondary north–south routes. No east–west interstate crosses Marion County.<\/p>\n Ocala International Airport (OCF) handles general aviation and cargo only, with no scheduled passenger flights. The nearest airport with scheduled commercial service is Gainesville Regional Airport, about 40 miles north; Orlando International Airport, about 90 miles southeast, offers the widest range of flights. Ocala’s own Amtrak station closed in 2004; Amtrak now connects Ocala by Thruway bus to its Silver Star line stations in Jacksonville and Lakeland.<\/p>\n Where is Marion County, Florida?<\/strong> What is the population of Marion County?<\/strong> How big is Marion County?<\/strong> What is the county seat of Marion County?<\/strong> How many towns and cities are in Marion County?<\/strong> What ZIP codes are in Marion County?<\/strong>City · seat<\/code> marks the seat, City<\/code> and Town<\/code> mark the other incorporated places, and CDP<\/code> marks a statistically defined but unincorporated community.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n \nPlace<\/th>\n Type<\/th>\n Pop. (2020)<\/th>\n ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n Ocala<\/td>\n City · seat<\/td>\n 63,591<\/td>\n 34470<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Belleview<\/td>\n City<\/td>\n 5,413<\/td>\n 34420<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Dunnellon<\/td>\n City<\/td>\n 1,928<\/td>\n 34431<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n McIntosh<\/td>\n Town<\/td>\n 463<\/td>\n 32664<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Reddick<\/td>\n Town<\/td>\n 449<\/td>\n 32686<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Silver Springs Shores<\/td>\n CDP<\/td>\n 24,846<\/td>\n 34472<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Marion Oaks<\/td>\n CDP<\/td>\n 19,034<\/td>\n 34473<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n On Top of the World<\/td>\n CDP<\/td>\n 12,668<\/td>\n 34481<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Summerfield<\/td>\n CDP<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n 34491<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Silver Springs<\/td>\n CDP<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n 34488<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Ocklawaha<\/td>\n CDP<\/td>\n —<\/td>\n 32179<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n
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Geography<\/h2>\n
Demographics<\/h2>\n
Economy & Local Life<\/h2>\n
History<\/h2>\n
Getting There<\/h2>\n
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Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n
It sits in north-central Florida, on I-75 between Gainesville and Orlando, with Ocala as its county seat.<\/p>\n
375,908 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 Census Bureau estimate of 442,660.<\/p>\n
1,585 square miles of land (4,110 km2) plus 78 square miles of water, for 1,663 square miles total.<\/p>\n
Ocala, the county’s largest city, with a population of 63,591 at the 2020 census.<\/p>\n
Five incorporated municipalities — the cities of Ocala, Belleview and Dunnellon, and the towns of McIntosh and Reddick — plus six named CDPs and roughly two dozen smaller unincorporated communities.<\/p>\n
Ocala alone uses 34470 through 34483; other towns include Belleview (34420–34421), Dunnellon (34430–34432), McIntosh (32664) and Reddick (32686).<\/p>\n