Most of Mason City commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
About one in five work in Mason City itself; outside it, Springfield draws the most (22%, 28 miles). Employers in Mason City report 352 jobs for 669 working residents. The two grades for Mason City are C for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Mason City apart
Mason City’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Mason City is Springfield, 29 miles away as the crow flies. 22% of working residents (147) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Mason City than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Mason City fell from 550 in 2014 to 352 in 2024, −36%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 669 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How Mason City earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Mason City is better than 27% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Mason City’s grade up (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (16.7%, U.S. 12.5%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Mason City could be anywhere from D to B.
Short hops and long hauls from Mason City
About 23% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Jobs in Mason City: what the 352 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mason City, 2014 → 2024: 550 → 352. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Mason City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Mason City, and who commutes in
On a workday 528 residents head out to work, 141 work right here, and 211 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Mason City on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Mason City’s residents
Where Mason City clocks in
22% of workers
2% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The trip to work from Mason City: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mason City workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 850 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Few in Mason City walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mason City is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 953 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.3% of Mason City households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Mason City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,600, Mason City ranks 3,358th of 5,234 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Port Barrington IL | 1,584 | $150K | 2.7% | 2.9% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,356 | Pilot Mountain NC | 1,437 | $49K | 12.4% | 3.5% | 8% | C |
| 3,357 | Dunn WI | 1,477 | $75K | 13.4% | 9.0% | 1% | C |
| 3,358 | Mason City IL | 1,956 | $67K | 16.7% | 4.2% | 21% | C |
| 3,359 | Medicine Lodge KS | 1,707 | $59K | 5.9% | 0.6% | 33% | C |
| 3,360 | West Newton PA | 2,569 | $53K | 14.5% | 6.1% | 6% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,234 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Mason City, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Mason City: questions
What is the median household income in Mason City?
$66,524 (±$16,118) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mason City?
16.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mason City?
32 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mason City work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Springfield (22%, 28 mi), Havana (2%, 20 mi), Mason City Township (2%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Mason City walkable?
Mason City is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mason City without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mason City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mason City
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.