Marathon has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Employers in Marathon report 20 jobs, and 104 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any work in Marathon itself; outside it, Storm Lake draws the most (12%, 18 miles). 2% of workers work from home, against 11% across Iowa.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who works in Marathon, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 103 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 19 people come in from elsewhere.
About 130 people are in Marathon on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Marathon to work: where people go
Where Marathon clocks in
12% 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.
70% of the jobs in Marathon pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Marathon, 2013 → 2023: 27 → 20. 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.
Getting to work from Marathon takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Marathon workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 110 commuters (the 2% who work from home are left out). Across Iowa: 86% 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.
How far Marathon goes to work
About 28% 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.
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?
$39,375 (±$17,727) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Marathon?
25.2%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Marathon?
27 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Marathon work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Storm Lake (12%, 18 mi), Laurens (11%, 7 mi), Spencer (7%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Marathon without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
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.