Best PlacesMarathon, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Marathon, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Marathon ranks 22,284th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Marathon
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Marathon's strengths and weaknesses
Where Marathon ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of towns
- BikingBetter than 98% of towns
- Short commute13.7 minutes each way, better than 98% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 96% of towns
Where Marathon ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Marathon
A household needs to earn about $189,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Marathon home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $91,255, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Marathon's effective rate of 0.55%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Marathon
Marathon runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Marathon.
Who works in Marathon, and how
Work in Marathon centers on hospitality & food and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in Marathon
Marathon has more restaurants and bars per resident than 93% of towns. The coast is about 0 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Marathon and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Marathon, month by month
Marathon sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 78, with lows near 64. The comfortable stretch runs December through February.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 78° | 70° | 64° |
| April | 86° | 79° | 74° |
| July | 92° | 86° | 80° |
| October | 88° | 81° | 76° |
Flying in and out of Marathon
The nearest airport, Key West International, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Miami International, about 88 miles away.
The best schools in and around Marathon
Schools across Marathon average a B, better than 69% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Stanley Switlik Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Marathon SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Marathon school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Marathon measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Marathon against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Marathon
Is Marathon a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Marathon ranks 22,284th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, biking, and short commutes, and lowest on an overheated housing market and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Marathon expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $749,263. The overall cost of living runs about 11% above the national average. Set against a $91,255 median income, cost of living beats 56% of towns.
Is Marathon safe?
Marathon is safer than 25% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $270 per resident a year.
Compare Marathon with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Marathon. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Marathon represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Marathon detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Marathon: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Marathon: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Marathon: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Marathon: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Marathon detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.