Marathon, New York.
. Cortland, NY metro.
to buy the typical home at today's mortgage rate — +$1,478 (+116%) since Jan 2020.
Monthly payment to buy the typical home
Home value × that month's 30-year mortgage rate, 20% down, principal and interest. This is the line households feel: prices and rates compound each other.
- New York$2,755
- United States$1,922
Living in Marathon, Cortland County, New York
Marathon is a village of 892 people in Cortland County. Half its households earn more than $52,198 a year and half less, against $70,418 across Cortland County; 13% of its people live below the poverty line. Unemployment in Cortland County was 4.5% in August 2026, and the county had 3.3% more jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in schools and health care, then shops.
Written by AI Claude Sonnet 5.5 wrote this on 24 October 2026 from the figures here, a list of nearby places and what it knows. It can be wrong or out of date.
What it’s like
The place. Marathon is a small village in Cortland County, home to a very small population. Incomes here run below the county's, and fewer adults hold a four-year degree than you might expect, though plenty of households make a steady living from local work. Winters are cold, with January the coldest month and highs hovering around freezing, while July brings warm days, and the year's precipitation falls as both rain and melted snow.
Work. Residents work mostly in schools, hospitals and social care, followed by shops, the building trades, and banks, insurance and property. Across Cortland County, the biggest workplaces include State University of New York at Cortland, Guthrie Cortland Medical Center and the Cortland City School District. The typical commute is a moderate one, and few people work from home.
Things to do. For time outdoors, the Otselic River and the Whitney Point Reservoir are both a short drive away, and the reservoir gives you open water close to home. Greek Peak, a ski area, is also a short drive off, which suits the snowy winters. A bit farther afield, Thunder Mountain Speedway is a race track a short drive away, and Buttermilk Falls State Park is a protected area a longer drive away.
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- 393households
- 13%of adults have a degree
- 13%below the poverty line
- 25 mintypical commute
- 5%work from home
What residents work in
Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Cortland County had 17,469 jobs in 2025, 3.3% more than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Weather through the year
Coldest in January, with highs near 32° and lows near 15°; warmest in July, with highs near 81° and lows near 58°. About 41 inches of rain and melted snow a year.
Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Whitney Pt Dam weather station, 8 miles away (NOAA).
Largest workplaces in Cortland County
- State University of New York at CortlandUniversity or college1,262
- JM Murray CenterHabilitation job counseling and training, vocational537
- Guthrie Cortland Medical CenterGeneral hospital482FTE
- Cortland City School DistrictSchool district394FTE
- Homer Central School DistrictSchool district376FTE
- Pall CortlandAngle irons, metal, manufacturing373
- WalmartWarehouse clubs and supercenters361
- Auxiliary Services Corporation of Suny CortlandCafeteria food services contractors329
Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 37 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 4,412 people in all across the county; Marathon has one of its own. Colleges come from IPEDS (NCES, 2023–24), hospitals from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023) and school districts from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.
Natural hazards
- Inland floodingRelatively high
- Winter weatherRelatively moderate
- HailRelatively moderate
- Ice stormsRelatively moderate
- Strong windRelatively moderate
- TornadoesRelatively moderate
FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Marathon’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively moderate. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.
From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Cortland County and the Cortland, NY metro.
Marathon home values
Zillow measures a city over its municipal boundary. Against the state and national figures, mid-tier homes, smoothed and seasonally adjusted.
Not enough data to draw this yet.
Market heat, inside the city limits
Homes for sale
Active for-sale inventory. More supply hands power to buyers.
- Marathon12
New listings per month
Sellers arriving at the market.
Not enough data to draw this yet.
Zip codes with a Marathon address
A different geography, not a breakdown. The figure above covers the municipality; these zips cover everywhere the Post Office calls Marathon — often including townships beyond the city limits. Both come straight from Zillow, and they are not expected to average out.