Clarion is a small town where college students really create the town feel and character. So many small towns have lost population over the last 20-30 years that having the local college presence in the Clarion area, with all of the energy of the students filling area dorms and apartments each fall, really helps Clarion maintain a good economy.
Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Clarion spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 14.78 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the borough are less than they would otherwise be.
The citizens of Clarion are among the most well-educated in the nation: 46.60% of adults in Clarion have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Clarion in 2022 was $25,864, which is low income relative to Pennsylvania, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $103,456 for a family of four. However, Clarion contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Clarion is a somewhat ethnically-diverse borough. The people who call Clarion home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Clarion residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Clarion include German, Irish, English, Polish, and Italian.
The most common language spoken in Clarion is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
