Detroit-Bay City Railroad Company Columbiaville Depot · Photo: Paul R. Burley · CC BY-SA 4.0Marathon Township has higher unemployment (12.2%) than 97% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Marathon Township C−; getting around on foot earns it D. Only 3% work in Marathon Township; the top destination outside it is Lapeer (9%, 11 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 37 minutes; Michigan averages 24, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Marathon Township and work: the main findings
Marathon Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 100 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Marathon Township is a place people come home to
There are 132 jobs based in Marathon Township, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Marathon Township has about 2,800 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; 2021 is the newest year Michigan has published.
Why Marathon Township gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Marathon Township is better than 16% of U.S. towns, #629 of 701 in Michigan. The poverty rate holds Marathon Township’s grade up (11.3%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down.
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is two years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Marathon Township could be anywhere from D to C.
Time on the road from Marathon Township: about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Marathon Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,432 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 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.
The daily flow of workers through Marathon Township
On a workday 1,692 residents head out to work, 50 work right here, and 82 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,800 people are in Marathon Township on a workday afternoon, 36% fewer than live here.
0.08 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
Where Marathon Township’s working residents head each day
Where Marathon Township clocks in
9% 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.
What work there is in Marathon Township: 132 jobs
132 jobs are based in Marathon Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Marathon Township, 2011 → 2021: 114 → 132. 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 2021.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Marathon Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Marathon Township
About 25% 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 2021.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Marathon Township is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Marathon Township is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns, #653 of 701 in Michigan. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 0.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 3.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,670 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.7% of Marathon Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Marathon Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Marathon Township is 3,421st of 4,000 U.S. towns of 3,100 to 6,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 120 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 125 | Ann Arbor Township MI | 4,506 | $165K | 7.2% | 0.5% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,419 | Crouch Mesa NM | 4,812 | $64K | 21.9% | 6.7% | 3% | C− |
| 3,420 | Blanchester OH | 4,250 | $55K | 13.2% | 10.8% | 10% | C− |
| 3,421 | Marathon Township MI | 4,444 | $66K | 11.3% | 12.2% | 3% | C− |
| 3,422 | Charlestown NH | 4,924 | $47K | 14.8% | 5.1% | 19% | C− |
| 3,423 | Waynesville MO | 5,558 | $57K | 16.5% | 5.1% | 17% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,000 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Around Marathon Township: the bordering towns
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Marathon Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marathon Township | – | C− | D | 37 min | $65,511 |
| Oregon Township | under 2% | C | D− | 28 min | $83,807 |
| Deerfield Township | under 2% | B− | B− | 42 min | $72,241 |
| Forest Township | under 2% | B | C− | 34 min | $71,250 |
| Watertown Township | under 2% | C | D | 46 min | $82,396 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Marathon Township’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 2021, 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 Township: questions
What is the median household income in Marathon Township?
$65,511 (±$11,662) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Marathon Township?
11.3%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Marathon Township?
37 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Marathon Township work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lapeer (9%, 11 mi), Flint (5%, 19 mi), Detroit (4%, 58 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Marathon Township walkable?
Marathon Township is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 3.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Marathon Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Marathon Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Marathon Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2021, 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.