Photo: dwhartwig · CC BY 2.0Mason City’s library logs 5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Mason City Public Library serves Mason City’s 28,779 residents. Last year it lent 102K print books and media and logged 144K visits.
The short version on Mason City’s library
More library cards than residents
29,203 cards for 28,779 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
52% of the 249 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 91 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
What’s behind Mason City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Mason City is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #62 of 138 in Iowa. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Mason City’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
99 community nonprofits are registered in Mason City
3.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (24 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.1%
11.1% of Mason City’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.6% in the typical Iowa town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Mason City’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Mason City Public Library serves 28,779 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
102K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 98K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Mason City last year.
Find it
Mason City Public Library, 225 2nd St. SE, Mason City.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.32 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mason City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 29,203 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Mason City Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Mason City
Does Mason City have a public library?
Yes. Mason City Public Library, 225 2nd St. SE, serves Mason City’s 28,779 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mason City Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Mason City’s library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 3.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Mason City’s civic life grade?
A− Mason City is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on civic life, #62 of 138 in Iowa. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Mason City.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.