Marquette is also a major college town with a large number of people who are 18 years or older and attending college. As is often the case in college towns, the many students that live in Marquette have a strong influence on the local culture and entertainment scene, which may seem dormant by comparison in the summer months when much of the student population is away. In the fall, the return of students has a reinvigorating effect on the community. Because colleges are lasting institutions, they have a stabilizing effect on the economy by providing direct local benefits such as jobs for faculty and staff and spending by students. Marquette’s economy is one such example of this.
Marquette, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.
One of the benefits of Marquette is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 13.16 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.
The citizens of Marquette are among the most well-educated in the nation: 45.58% of adults in Marquette have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Marquette in 2018 was $30,343, which is middle income relative to Michigan and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $121,372 for a family of four. However, Marquette contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Marquette home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Marquette residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Marquette include German, Irish, English, Finnish, and Polish.
The most common language spoken in Marquette is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Italian.
