County outline
Where Marathon County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 98% of Marathon County’s measured area and water for 2%. Its combined area converts to 4,082.7 square kilometers or approximately 1,008,854 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 1,545.249 | 4,002.177 | 988,959.4 |
| Water | 31.085 | 80.51 | 19,894.4 |
| Total | 1,576.334 | 4,082.686 | 1,008,853.8 |
How Marathon County compares
By original Census land area, Marathon County ranks #1 of 72 in Wisconsin and #390 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 2.052 times the Wisconsin county-equivalent median of 753 square miles. It accounts for 2.9% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Wisconsin ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Marathon County
The Census Bureau estimates that 139,432 people lived in Marathon County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #487 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #10 of 72 in Wisconsin. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 138,063, the population has grown by 1,369 (+1%), compared with +1.3% for Wisconsin as a whole.
With 1,545.2 square miles of land, that is 90 people per square mile (35 per km²), placing Marathon County #1,071 nationally for density and #23 in Wisconsin. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Wisconsin median is 51. Put another way, there are about 7.1 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 138,119 | 137,832 | 138,207 | 138,768 | 139,094 | 139,432 |
| Change | — | −287 | +375 | +561 | +326 | +338 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Marathon County
Marathon County is divided into 61 cities and towns. In Wisconsin, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents.
The most populous is Wausau city, with 40,188 residents (28.8% of the county). The largest by land is Kronenwetter village, at 51.6 mi², or 3.3% of the county’s land. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Athens village grew fastest since then (+12.1%).
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wausau cityCounty seat | 40,188 | +0.5% | 19.2 | 1.2% |
| Weston village | 15,931 | +1.3% | 21.7 | 1.4% |
| Kronenwetter village | 8,413 | +0.9% | 51.6 | 3.3% |
| Rib Mountain village | 7,280 | −0.4% | 24.5 | 1.6% |
| Rothschild village | 5,627 | +1.2% | 6.547 | 0.4% |
| Mosinee city | 4,529 | +1.8% | 7.841 | 0.5% |
| Maine village | 2,621 | +0.5% | 43.1 | 2.8% |
| Stettin town | 2,593 | +1.3% | 35.8 | 2.3% |
| Wausau townCounty seat | 2,353 | +8.4% | 32.3 | 2.1% |
| Schofield city | 2,311 | +6% | 2.115 | 0.1% |
| Mosinee town | 2,275 | +2.5% | 37.3 | 2.4% |
| McMillan town | 2,085 | +0.6% | 34 | 2.2% |
| Knowlton town | 2,003 | +0.7% | 29.2 | 1.9% |
| Spencer village | 1,809 | −0.5% | 1.97 | 0.1% |
| Ringle town | 1,763 | +1.2% | 42.1 | 2.7% |
Show the other 46 subdivisions
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stratford village | 1,619 | +1.8% | 5.305 |
| Texas town | 1,604 | +0.1% | 44.4 |
| Spencer town | 1,599 | +0.2% | 31.5 |
| Marathon City village | 1,547 | −2.2% | 3.242 |
| Cleveland town | 1,487 | +0.3% | 29.7 |
| Edgar village | 1,425 | −1% | 1.808 |
| Athens village | 1,190 | +12.1% | 2.45 |
| Reid town | 1,172 | −1.2% | 41.8 |
| Easton town | 1,160 | +1.6% | 42.8 |
| Marshfield city | 1,069 | +30.7% | 2.037 |
| Day town | 1,052 | −1.3% | 33.8 |
| Bevent town | 1,051 | +0.1% | 42.1 |
| Norrie town | 1,037 | +1.6% | 34.6 |
| Marathon town | 976 | −2.2% | 32.7 |
| Berlin town | 971 | +2% | 34.7 |
| Cassel town | 943 | +1.3% | 32.9 |
| Rib Falls town | 940 | −1.6% | 35.2 |
| Emmet town | 914 | +0.6% | 39.9 |
| Wien town | 876 | −0.6% | 31.6 |
| Rietbrock town | 862 | −1.3% | 33.9 |
| Johnson town | 855 | −1.5% | 35 |
| Holton town | 841 | −2.1% | 34.5 |
| Hamburg town | 824 | +0.9% | 35.3 |
| Eau Pleine town | 767 | +0.1% | 33.2 |
| Hull town | 758 | −1% | 32.5 |
| Bergen town | 729 | −1.1% | 27.1 |
| Colby city | 703 | −2% | 0.877 |
| Plover town | 680 | −1% | 36 |
| Hatley village | 661 | +2.8% | 0.976 |
| Halsey town | 652 | +2.2% | 33.1 |
| Weston town | 649 | +0.3% | 8.612 |
| Hewitt town | 640 | +0.6% | 43.5 |
| Frankfort town | 638 | +0.6% | 35.2 |
| Elderon town | 634 | −2.2% | 34.6 |
| Abbotsford city | 628 | +4% | 1.51 |
| Bern town | 618 | +1.3% | 34 |
| Brighton town | 600 | −1.5% | 34.2 |
| Franzen town | 560 | +2.4% | 36.3 |
| Green Valley town | 523 | +0.4% | 29 |
| Guenther town | 350 | −1.1% | 34.7 |
| Harrison town | 309 | −1% | 36.7 |
| Unity village | 229 | −2.6% | 0.66 |
| Elderon village | 150 | −3.8% | 1.124 |
| Fenwood village | 140 | −0.7% | 0.984 |
| Birnamwood village | 17 | +13.3% | 0.062 |
| Dorchester village | 2 | 0% | 0.1 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Marathon County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Marathon County is a central county of the Wausau, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. Marathon County is the area’s only county equivalent, so the metro area has the same 1,545.2 square miles of land. By combined land it ranks #215 of 393 metropolitan areas, and #310 by population. It belongs to the Wausau-Stevens Point-Wisconsin Rapids, WI Combined Statistical Area.
ZIP codes
29 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Marathon County; 16 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
5440154403544055440854409544115441254414544175442154425544265442754440544435444854449544515445254455544715447354474544765447954480544845448854499
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Marathon County
Marathon County shares a land border with 7 county equivalents. It has more land than every one of them. The largest neighbor is Clark County (1,209.7 mi²) and the smallest is Wood County (793 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Marathon County forms a block of 7,966.6 mi² of land, of which it holds 19.4%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Marathon | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County | 1,209.7 | 1.3× smaller | Compare |
| Taylor County | 975.1 | 1.6× smaller | Compare |
| Shawano County | 893.2 | 1.7× smaller | Compare |
| Lincoln County | 878.8 | 1.8× smaller | Compare |
| Langlade County | 870.7 | 1.8× smaller | Compare |
| Portage County | 800.9 | 1.9× smaller | Compare |
| Wood County | 793 | 1.9× smaller | Compare |
How big is Marathon County compared with U.S. states?
Marathon County has more land than 1 of the 50 states. It is about 1.5 times the land area of Rhode Island (1,033.9 mi²), while Delaware, the next larger state, has 1.3 times as much land (1,948.6 mi²). Wisconsin’s county land could hold about 35 areas the size of Marathon County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 39.3 miles (63.3 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Marathon County?
Marathon County has more land than 2,832 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Marathon County at #427 nationally by total area, 37 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.
Its water share is 2%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 0.8 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Marathon County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #389 | Uvalde County, Texas | 1,551.9 | Compare |
| #390 | Marathon County, Wisconsin | 1,545.2 | This county |
| #391 | Fremont County, Colorado | 1,533.8 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 44.898036, -89.757823. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 4,002,176,375 m²; AWATER: 80,510,469 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Marathon County?
Marathon County, Wisconsin has 1,545.2 square miles (4,002.2 km²) of land and 31.1 square miles of water, for a total area of 1,576.3 square miles. It ranks #390 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Marathon County the largest county in Wisconsin?
Yes. Marathon County has the most land of the 72 county equivalents in Wisconsin.
What counties border Marathon County?
Marathon County shares a land border with Portage County, Lincoln County, Clark County, Shawano County, Wood County, Taylor County, and Langlade County.
What is the population of Marathon County?
The Census Bureau estimates Marathon County had 139,432 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #487 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 90 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Marathon County?
The county seat of Marathon County is Wausau.
What cities and towns are in Marathon County?
Marathon County has 61 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Wausau city, Weston village, Kronenwetter village, Rib Mountain village, and Rothschild village.
Is Marathon County part of a metropolitan area?
Yes. It is a central county of the Wausau, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.
How many ZIP codes are in Marathon County?
29 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Marathon County, and 16 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Marathon County compare with U.S. states?
It has more land than 1 of the 50 states, including Rhode Island (1,033.9 square miles of land).
How many acres of land are in Marathon County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 988,959 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 1,008,854 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.