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Place dossier plate
SheetWI-MARATHON-CITY-WI · Marathon City, WI 1,397 pop · income 71st pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Marathon City
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Marathon City on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Webb · lowest
48,102
Webb · lowest
48,102 median HH income
31.4% of the leader · rank #1
Marathon City · this city
90,000
Marathon City · this city
90,000 median HH income
58.7% of the leader · rank #2
Sonoita · near
90,000
Sonoita · near
90,000 median HH income
58.7% of the leader · rank #3
Garden Plain · near
90,000
Garden Plain · near
90,000 median HH income
58.7% of the leader · rank #4
Fox Chase · near
90,000
Fox Chase · near
90,000 median HH income
58.7% of the leader · rank #5
Weaverville · near
90,000
Weaverville · near
90,000 median HH income
58.7% of the leader · rank #6
St. Peter · highest
153,400
St. Peter · highest
153,400 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Marathon City on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 1,397.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Marathon City - the verdict
Marathon City ranks in the 71st percentile for household income and the 87th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
71st
percentile, household income
42nd
percentile, home value
29th
percentile, median rent
87th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Marathon City, WI
Wisconsin's Marathon City is a small town, with 1,397 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Marathon City households earn a median of $90,000 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 0.5%. Marathon City's housing stock carries a median value of $196,600, and the median resident age is 46.0 years. Educational attainment runs 31.4% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 67.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 0 residential units authorized here in 2024 (No Permits), down 100% from five years earlier. Marathon City reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 450.5 in FBI UCR data, below the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Wisconsin run below the national norm: the state registers 94.1 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,097 per month. Monthly utility costs average around $225 across Wisconsin, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Commute times here average 13.7 minutes, with 74.2% driving alone and 10.2% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 59.1 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Marathon City's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to population change to housing and income to work and mobility to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Marathon City, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Marathon City?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Wisconsin, the closest population matches are St. Peter (1,403 residents, $153,400 income); Niagara (1,386 residents, $57,500 income); Bangor (1,409 residents, $74,271 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Sublette, KS (1,397 residents); Renville, MN (1,397 residents); St. Vincent College, PA (1,397 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Is Marathon City growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -31 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
How far does income reach against housing in Marathon City?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 0.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the journey to work look like in Marathon City?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 74.2%. The reported mean trip to work is 13.7 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Marathon City?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 450.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 80% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Total reported rate
450.5
Violent rate
128.7
Property rate
321.8
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Above median income · poverty 0.5% (Very low poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Wisconsin average
B
City profile score · Marathon City, WI
72/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate A+
0.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income B-
$90,000
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living B-
94.1 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime C+
129 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C+
31.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Marathon City profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 96/100 (A+) · 0.5%
Household income: 69/100 (B-) · $90,000
Cost of living: 68/100 (B-) · 94.1 index
Violent crime: 64/100 (C+) · 129 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 60/100 (C+) · 31.4%
Where Marathon City sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Marathon City's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Marathon City highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
Marathon City, WI (this city): home $196,600, crime 451/100k
Renville, MN : home $109,700, crime 1,196/100k
Hemphill, TX : home $86,300, crime 387/100k
Darrington, WA : home $373,300, crime 1,229/100k
Niagara, WI : home $90,200, crime 382/100k
Bangor, WI : home $211,900, crime 1,088/100k
Montello, WI : home $155,600, crime 345/100k
Augusta, WI : home $140,100, crime 1,392/100k
How does Marathon City compare to other US cities?
Where Marathon City sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income71% higher than other cities
Home value42% pricier than other cities
Median rent29% pricier than other cities
Safety87% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Wisconsin and the picture shifts: Marathon City ranks #41 of 202 Wisconsin cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Marathon City against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Wisconsin only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Wisconsin-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Marathon City near the bottom of Wisconsin's cities
Among the 761 Wisconsin cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Marathon City ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Marathon City only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#136 of 753
82nd percentile in Wisconsin
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 761
0th percentile in Wisconsin
Median Home Value
#317 of 754
58th percentile in Wisconsin
Poverty Rate
#668 of 761
12th percentile in Wisconsin
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#185 of 761
75th percentile in Wisconsin
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Wisconsin only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
71st percentile nationally for median household income · 87th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Marathon City's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Marathon City's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Marathon City's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$196,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 58% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Marathon City's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#2,388 of 15,516
More affordable than 85% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,246 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.2×, Marathon City sits in the affordable band:
national rank #2,388 of 15,516 and #2,246 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$90,000Marathon City, WI median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Marathon City, WI median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Marathon City, WI.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)31.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)0.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)67.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,397
Median Income
$90,000
Median Home Value
$196,600
Median Age
46.0
Poverty Rate
0.5%
Labor force participation
67.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
31.4%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
450.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
128.7
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
321.8
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Marathon City's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,578 residents
2021
1,570 residents
2022
1,556 residents
2023
1,561 residents
2024
1,554 residents
2025
1,547 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.4M
2020
2
2
0
$0.8M
2021
1
1
0
$0.3M
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Permit volume decreased 100% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
13.7 minutes
Drive Alone
74.2%
Carpool
8.4%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
7.2%
Work from Home
10.2%
Based on 747 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Wisconsin statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $225
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Wisconsin at $225 (electricity about $100 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Wisconsin statewide averages, not a meter reading for Marathon City. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Wisconsin's BEA cost-of-living index is 94.1 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Marathon City is $1,097/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Wisconsin statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 59.1 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Wisconsin statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Marathon City sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Marathon City compares to similar-size Wisconsin cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.