# Marathon County, Wisconsin: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Wausau, Weston and Kronenwetter Marathon County is one of the places pushing back on the data center build-out. Marathon County is home to Wausau, Weston, Kronenwetter and Rib Mountain. The Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure here (1 in force); the latest is “County moratorium on data centers”. Construction employs 3,078, up 21.4% since 2019. Electrical contractors employ 603, up 21.1% since 2019 against up 21.6% statewide, at an average $92,563 a year. 165 MW has retired here since 2019, including Weston (natural gas, 158 MW, 2023). +21.1% electrical contractor jobs since 2019, now 603 165 MW of generating capacity retired since 2019 1,164 MW of operating power plants, mostly coal ## Cities and towns in Marathon County Marathon County is home to Wausau, Weston, Kronenwetter and Rib Mountain. Wausau40,188 residents Weston15,931 residents Kronenwetter8,413 residents Rib Mountain7,280 residents Rothschild5,627 residents Mosinee4,529 residents Maine2,621 residents Stettin2,593 residents Schofield2,311 residents McMillan2,085 residents Knowlton2,003 residents Spencer1,809 residents Ringle1,763 residents Stratford1,619 residents Texas1,604 residents Marathon City1,547 residents Cleveland1,487 residents Edgar1,425 residents Athens1,190 residents Reid1,172 residents Easton1,160 residents Marshfield1,069 residents · 6% of the city Day1,052 residents Bevent1,051 residents And 16 smaller places. - Marshfield also extends into [Wood County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/wood-county). - Colby also extends into [Clark County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/clark-county). Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Knowlton, Rib Mountain. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Marathon County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Wisconsin | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 138,119 | 139,432 | ▲ 1.0% | 10th of 72 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 71,716 | 69,778 | ▼ 2.7% | 49th of 72 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $47,447 | $60,545 | ▲ 27.6% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 2,536 | 3,078 | ▲ 21.4% | 26th of 61 by growth | | Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 498 | 603 | ▲ 21.1% | — | | Data processing and hosting jobs (2019 → 2025) | 19 | 21 | ▲ 10.5% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.7% | 3.0% | ▲ 0.3pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 132 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 165 MW | | — | Its power plants have 1,164 MW of capacity, 81% of it coal, the 7th largest fleet in Wisconsin. 132 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly natural gas. Employers here counted 69,778 jobs in 2025, down 2.7% from 2019. Wisconsin Power & Light Co is the largest utility serving Marathon County, one of 8 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 16.89¢/kWh in 2024, above the 13.25¢ median for Wisconsin utilities. Unemployment was 3.0% in August 2026, against 2.7% in 2019. 139,432 people live here, up 1.0% since 2020, 10th of 72 Wisconsin counties by population. ## Who powers Marathon County ### Utilities with service territory in Marathon County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Wisconsin Power & Light Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 437,211 | 16.89¢ | 22% | | Wisconsin Public Service Corp | Investor Owned | Bundled | 411,775 | 16.23¢ | 38% | | Northern States Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 220,574 | 15.83¢ | 40% | | City of Marshfield - (WI) | Municipal | Bundled | 11,928 | 10.07¢ | 24% | | Central Wisconsin Elec Coop | — | — | — | — | — | | Clark Electric Coop - (WI) | — | — | — | — | — | | Village of Stratford - (WI) | — | — | — | — | — | | Taylor Electric Coop - (WI) | — | — | — | — | — | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Coal | 946 MW | 81% | | Natural gas | 132 MW | 11% | | Other technologies | 78 MW | 7% | | Hydro | 10 MW | 1% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Weston | Wisconsin Public Service Corp | Coal | 946 MW | 1981 | | Weston RICE | Wisconsin Public Service Corp | Natural gas | 132 MW | 2023 | | Rothschild Biomass Cogen Facility | Wisconsin Electric Power Co | Other technologies | 58 MW | 2013 | | Mosinee Mill | Ahlstrom-Munksjo NA Specialty Solutions, LLC | Hydro | 23 MW | 1916 | | Wausau | Wisconsin Public Service Corp | Hydro | 5 MW | 1921 | | Domtar Paper Company Rothschild | Domtar Paper Company Rothschild | Hydro | 1 MW | 1910 | ### Retired since 2019 | Plant | Technology | MW | Year | |---|---|---|---| | Weston | Natural gas | 158 MW | 2023 | | Domtar Paper Company Rothschild | Hydro | 3 MW | 2022 | | Fiber Recovery, Inc. | Other technologies | 2 MW | 2024 | | Marathon Electric | Petroleum | 2 MW | 2021 | ## The Marathon County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 69,778 | $60,545 | 1.00 | | Construction | 3,078 | $79,553 | 0.83 | | Electrical contractors | 603 | $92,563 | 1.20 | | Power and communication line construction | 17 | $86,122 | 0.15 | | Data processing and hosting | 21 | $99,551 | 0.10 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Marathon County ### Local measures | Measure | Status | Date | |---|---|---| | County moratorium on data centers | In force | — | ## Marathon County and its neighbors Of the 8 counties that border Marathon County, Portage County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Marathon County | 139,432 | ▼ 2.7% | 1,164 MW | — | — | 1 | | Clark County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/clark-county) | 35,052 | ▲ 2.9% | 2 MW | 2 MW | — | — | | Langlade County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/langlade-county) | 19,534 | ▼ 3.5% | 12 MW | — | — | — | | Lincoln County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/lincoln-county) | 28,403 | ▼ 8.7% | 45 MW | — | — | — | | Portage County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/portage-county) | 71,943 | ▼ 1.2% | 25 MW | 1,432 MW | — | — | | Shawano County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/shawano-county) | 41,560 | ▼ 3.1% | 8 MW | — | — | 2 | | Taylor County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/taylor-county) | 20,118 | ▼ 4.5% | 4 MW | — | — | — | | Waupaca County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/waupaca-county) | 51,461 | ▼ 4.9% | — | — | — | — | | Wood County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/wood-county) | 74,060 | ▼ 8.6% | 407 MW | — | 1 | — | ## More of Wisconsin [All Wisconsin countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin)[Wood County74,060 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/wood-county)[Portage County71,943 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/portage-county)[Waupaca County51,461 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/waupaca-county)[Shawano County41,560 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/shawano-county)[Clark County35,052 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/clark-county) ## Marathon County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Marathon County, Wisconsin? 8 utilities have service territory in Marathon County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Wisconsin Power & Light Co, Wisconsin Public Service Corp, Northern States Power Co, City of Marshfield - (WI). The largest, Wisconsin Power & Light Co, charged residential customers 16.89¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What county is Wausau, WI in? Wausau is in Marathon County, Wisconsin. About 40,188 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What county is Weston, WI in? Weston is in Marathon County, Wisconsin. About 15,931 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What power plants are in Marathon County? 6 operating plants with 1,164 MW of capacity. The largest is Weston (946 MW, coal). ### Are there data centers in Marathon County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Marathon County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Portage County. ### Is Marathon County adding jobs? Employers counted 69,778 jobs in 2025 against 71,716 in 2019 (-2.7%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 2,536 to 3,078. ### Does Marathon County have a data center moratorium? The SAVRN Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure for Marathon County, 1 in force. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/wisconsin/marathon-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).