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Jobs & commute in Marathon

Marathon has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each

At 22 minutes each way, commutes from Marathon run about the Wisconsin average. Marathon has 62 jobs; 459 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Marathon itself; outside it, Wausau draws the most (24%, 8 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

What stands out

Marathon and work: the main findings

★ What stands out · Day and night

Who works in Marathon, and who works elsewhere

On a workday 457 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 60 people come in from elsewhere.

457live here, work elsewhere
2live and work here
60work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night980
Workday580
980live here− 460head out to work+ 60come in to work= 580on a workday

About 580 people are in Marathon on a workday afternoon, 41% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.14jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

Where Marathon goes to work

LapeerEdgar: 15 residents work here (3%)Schofield: 20 residents work here (4%)Marathon City: 68 residents work here (15%)Mosinee: 11 residents work here (2%)MerrillMarshfield: 18 residents work here (4%)Stevens Point: 9 residents work here (2%)Rib Mountain: 13 residents work here (3%)Wausau: 112 residents work here (24%)Weston: 22 residents work here (5%)Madison: 10 residents work here (2%)ClevelandMosineeStettinCasselMarathonWausauMarathon CityWestonSchofieldMarshfieldEdgarMarathon
1
Wausau7.9 mi away
24%112
2
Marathon City4.7 mi away
15%68
3
Weston11.2 mi away
5%22
4
Schofield7.8 mi away
4%20
5
Marshfield25.1 mi away
4%18
6
Edgar9.2 mi away
3%15
7
Rib Mountain4.6 mi away
3%13
8
Mosinee8.4 mi away
2%11
9
Madison126 mi away
2%10
10
Stevens Point27.8 mi away
2%9
Everywhere elseother towns and states
35%161
The top trips

Where Marathon clocks in

Lines 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.

The jobs

Marathon makes things: 37% of its jobs are in goods

Jobs based in MarathonJobs Marathon residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms37%31%
Trade, transport & utilities16%19%
Services: health, schools, offices47%49%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less39%18%
$1,251–$3,333 a month21%24%
Over $3,333 a month40%58%

Who does it

29 or younger26%24%
30 to 5432%52%
55 and older42%25%
−60%

Jobs based in Marathon, 2013 → 2023: 156 → 62. 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.

Time on the road

The trip to work from Marathon: about 22 minutes

A year of commuting
170 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.1 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Marathon22 min
Wisconsin22 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
10%

of Marathon workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How Marathon gets to work
89%Drive alone
10%Carpool

Share of the 495 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 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

How far Marathon’s workers travel

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miWausau: 24% · 7.9 miMarathon City: 15% · 4.7 miWeston: 5% · 11.2 miSchofield: 4% · 7.8 miMarshfield: 4% · 25.1 miEdgar: 3% · 9.2 miRib Mountain: 3% · 4.6 miMosinee: 2% · 8.4 miMadison: 2% · 126 miStevens Point: 2% · 27.8 miWausau 24%Marathon City 15%Weston 5%Schofield 4%Marshfield 4%Marathon
MarathonTop destinations (size = commuters)
52%Under 10 mi237 residents
20%10–24 mi90 residents
8%25–50 mi37 residents
21%Over 50 mi95 residents

About 21% 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.

Next door

The towns next door employ 18% of Marathon

The biggest share goes to Marathon City (15%).

10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Marathon City17 min
Rib Mountain19 min
Cassel20 min
Mosinee21 min
Stettin22 min
Marathon22 min

Jobs & commute next door

TownMarathon workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Marathon–——22 min$106,250
Marathon City15%A−B17 min$89,519
Rib Mountain3%B+C19 min$94,294
Stettinunder 2%AC−22 min$104,697
Mosineeunder 2%AC−21 min$101,500
Casselunder 2%——20 min—

Same-state neighbors only. Cassel: 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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Marathon: questions

What is the median household income in Marathon?

$106,250 (±$17,529) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Marathon?

0.5%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Marathon?

22 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Marathon work?

<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wausau (24%, 8 mi), Marathon City (15%, 5 mi), Weston (5%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Marathon without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 2% 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.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Marathon

Marathon home →

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.