Mason City’s library lends 7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Mason City Public Library District serves 3,377 people in and around Mason City. Last year it lent 24K print books and media and logged 18K visits.
The short version on Mason City’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Mason City Public Library District offered 29 programs last year, 8.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
28% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 70%. What your card is worth ↓
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; Mason City Public Library District serves 3,377 people in and around Mason City, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Mason City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mason City is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns. Mason City is graded on two of the three inputs. 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Mason City
2.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.9%
12.9% of Mason City’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.1% in the typical Illinois 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 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Mason City Public Library District serves 3,377 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mason City Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
24K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Mason City’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
29 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Mason City Public Library District, 820 West Chestnut Street, Mason City.
Good at every Mason City Public Library District branch.
New in Mason City? The Handbook →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 $1.56 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: $43. Operating budget $260K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $405K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $260K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 2,672 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Mason City Public Library District serves 3,377 people in and around Mason City, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Mason City.
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 District, 820 West Chestnut Street, serves 3,377 people in and around Mason City (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mason City Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Mason City’s library?
It logged 5.5 visits and lent 7.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Mason City’s civic life grade?
B+ Mason City is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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.