Photo: davestew89 · CC BY 3.0Households in Marathon earn more than those in 80% of Canadian towns
68% of people aged 15 to 64 in Marathon had a job at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. Getting to work from Marathon takes 20.1 minutes on average, an hour or more for 5.3%. The 2021 census put unemployment in Marathon at 8.2%, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
What sets Marathon apart on jobs and income
Fewer people in work than most towns
The 2021 census found 68% of 15-to-64s with a job (73% in the middle of Canadian towns). Count every adult, retirees too, and the figure is 55%. In work ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 20.1 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 5.3% last an hour or longer. The trip to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs and income in Marathon earn B+
Better than 65% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #186 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
Graded against Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more; less unemployment and a shorter commute count in its favour.
How the grade works
Census 2021 measures, weighed equally against every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 people or more: the share of residents aged 15 to 64 in work, median household income (2020), the unemployment rate and the average commute. Each becomes a percentile; their average sets the letter.
Who in Marathon has a job
Of the 5 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Thunder Bay census division, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 60%. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 55%. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 59% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at home.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: people in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64, and the census unemployment rate (15 and over); the 25-to-54 rate is Statistics Canada’s own (98-10-0485). The Labour Force Survey and business counts are context, not grade inputs.
The length of the trip to work in Marathon
In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 60% of commuters, against 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 18.4 minutes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: commuting duration in five bands; our average uses each band’s middle (75 minutes for an hour or more), so it runs about two minutes above Statistics Canada’s own.
About as many people come in to work in Marathon as leave
79% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, against 70% in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
21% of Marathon’s residents in work leave it to work; Thunder Bay, Unorganized takes the most
- Manitouwadge75
- Thunder Bay20
- Terrace Bay20
- Schreiber15
- Pic River 5015
- Thunder Bay, Unorganized15
- Greater Sudbury / Grand Sudbury10
- Timmins10
- Geraldton10
- Thunder Bay, Unorganized95
- Pic River 5040
- White River25
- Wawa10
- Thunder Bay10
- Pic Mobert South10
- Manitouwadge10
Inbound, the leader is Manitouwadge (75).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Household income in Marathon: $94,000 at the median
Set beside Ontario’s towns, where the median is $91,600, Marathon sits 3% above. 2 of the 5 other places of 2,500+ in the Thunder Bay census division have a higher median. Pandemic support paid in 2020, CERB first among it, is part of these before-tax incomes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
8.7% of commuters from Marathon go without a car
On foot: 7.1% of commuters, well above the 3.2% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. The car is the way to work for 90% of commuters. Transit takes 0.8% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
In the Thunder Bay census division, the count on EI is close to where it was in 2019
April 2021 was the busiest month, with 8,970 people on EI, 2.6 times 2019’s average. Roughly 4 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 1%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of the Thunder Bay census division. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Marathon grades A for walkability
Better than 86% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #446 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Ranked on jobs and income, Marathon is 236th among 694 Canadian towns of 2,500 to 4,400
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Mount Royal Alberta | 2,758 | 83% | 12% | $188K | A+ |
| 2 | Central River Heights Manitoba | 2,736 | 84% | 5.4% | $137K | A+ |
| 3 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 11 | Red Lake Ontario | 4,285 | 77% | 5.1% | $111K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Perth South Ontario | 4,055 | 87% | 7.3% | $102K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 27 | McDougall Ontario | 3,002 | 82% | 9.6% | $93K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 234 | Discovery Ridge Alberta | 4,256 | 69% | 14% | $142K | B+ |
| 235 | Sainte-Luce Quebec | 2,808 | 79% | 5.3% | $70K | B+ |
| 236 | Marathon Ontario | 3,223 | 68% | 8.2% | $94K | B+ |
| 237 | Sundre Alberta | 2,683 | 77% | 12% | $72K | B+ |
| 238 | Minburn County No. 27 Alberta | 3,142 | 83% | 5.6% | $82K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 694 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,724 | 43% | 30% | $51K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Marathon, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Work in the places around Marathon
The nearest places to Marathon with figures are 54–66 km away.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marathon | 68% | 8.2% | $94K | 20.1 min | B+ | A |
| Terrace Bay 54.2 km | 67% | 9% | $87K | 12.9 min | B+ | A− |
| Manitouwadge 60.2 km | 65% | 13% | $71K | 24.3 min | C− | B+ |
| Schreiber 66.5 km | 65% | 9.6% | $76K | 14 min | B− | B+ |
The people of each place: the share in work, unemployment, household income and the average commute, with both grades once they come.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Marathon, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Household income. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- Trip times. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured average.
- Where people commute. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- Employment Insurance. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
Questions about work in Marathon
How long is the commute from Marathon?
About 20.1 minutes on average, with 60% under a quarter-hour and 5.3% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Marathon work?
Most stay: 79% work in Marathon. The rest go first to Thunder Bay, Unorganized (95) and Pic River 50 (40).
How many jobs are there in Marathon?
Some 1,120 people worked in Marathon at the 2021 census: 1 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 106 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Marathon?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 8.2% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Northwest economic region at 2.9% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Marathon?
The median household in Marathon had $94,000 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Marathon get to work?
Driving takes 90% of commuters to work, 0.8% take public transit, 7.1% walk and 0.8% cycle, and on census day 8.2% of those in work were at home.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · Statistics Canada, tables 98-10-0458 and 98-10-0459 (commuting) · Statistics Canada, table 14-10-0323 (EI beneficiaries) · Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (14-10-0459, 14-10-0462) · Statistics Canada, Canadian Business Counts (33-10-1176) · grades: TownRatings. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).