Photo: Sharon Hahn Darlin · CC BY 2.0Household incomes in Marathon are higher than in 67% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 13.4% of residents, next to 12.6% for Florida as a whole. Marathon grades C for jobs and income and A for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 31.0 in Miami.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Marathon
Commutes from Marathon are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 28 across Florida. That’s about 107 hours a year less on the road than the typical Florida worker. Time on the road ↓
Marathon’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Marathon is Key West, 49 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (461) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Most jobs in Marathon go to people who live here
Of the 3,523 jobs based in Marathon, 48% are held by Marathon residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
43% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Marathon’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Marathon is better than 34% of U.S. towns, #467 of 638 in Florida. Household income holds Marathon’s grade up ($89,355, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 6% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Marathon could be anywhere from D to B.
A commute of about 14 minutes in Marathon
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Marathon workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,284 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across Florida: 83% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Miles to work from Marathon
About 43% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In and out of Marathon on a workday
On a workday 2,900 residents head out to work, 1,685 work right here, and 1,838 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,000 people are in Marathon on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
10% of working residents work in Key West
Where Marathon clocks in
10% of workers
3% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Jobs in Marathon: what the 3,523 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Marathon, 2013 → 2023: 2,897 → 3,523. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Marathon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: Marathon
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Marathon is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #43 of 638 in Florida. Both inputs place Marathon near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,966 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 58% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 12% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 49% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.9% of Marathon households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Marathon’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,133rd of 2,878: where Marathon ranks among U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Southwest Ranches FL | 7,773 | $161K | 3.8% | 1.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 174 | Neptune Beach FL | 7,020 | $119K | 3.1% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 343 | Westlake FL | 9,042 | $132K | 3.2% | 2.8% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,131 | Goldenrod FL | 12,878 | $68K | 15.5% | 10.3% | 2% | C |
| 2,132 | Willow Oak FL | 7,454 | $66K | 24.7% | 4.6% | 1% | C |
| 2,133 | Marathon FL | 10,060 | $89K | 13.4% | 4.3% | 37% | C |
| 2,134 | Greenville IL | 7,469 | $62K | 11.3% | 4.5% | 32% | C |
| 2,135 | Center Line MI | 8,503 | $55K | 16.8% | 6.8% | 4% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Marathon, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
How Marathon compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Key Colony Beach (3%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Marathon workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marathon | – | C | A | 14 min | $89,355 |
| Key Colony Beach | 3% | — | — | 10 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Key Colony Beach: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Marathon’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Marathon: questions
What is the median household income in Marathon?
$89,355 (±$14,353) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Marathon?
13.4%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Marathon?
14 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Marathon work?
37% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Key West (10%, 48 mi), Miami (3%, 88 mi), Key Colony Beach (3%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Marathon walkable?
Marathon is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.1 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Marathon without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 12% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Marathon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Marathon
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.