Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Mason is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades A− overall, ranked 120th of 697 in Michigan, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $79K. It also does better than most on schools: its schools rank ahead of 79% of Michigan towns. A typical home there costs about $277K, 3.8 years of the Lansing metro’s $73K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 90% of U.S. towns, with 9 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Ingham County Courthouse and Maple Grove Cemetery. Mason's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 87% of U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Rayner Park, 61 acres with 1.3 miles of trail.
Where Mason beats most towns.
Ingham County Courthouse
Census counts: 363 in 1860, 8,283 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1978 and 3 maps from 1909 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Mason is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mason, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Mason.
2.4 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves.
| Mason | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.4% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rayner Park | 1.3 mi | 61 |
| 2. Hayes Park | — | 8 |
| 3. Laylin Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Mason Public Schools. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Mason High School, with 1,015 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mason Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 778 | A− |
| Mason High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,015 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 83% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 14 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mason.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
That puts Mason below both Michigan’s towns (34%) and U.S. towns (36%). Mason beats the Michigan average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 20% of Mason adults get no exercise outside work.
| Mason | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 25% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 19% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.6% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Mason | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.1% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Mason has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Mason’s July high is 82°F, where Michigan’s towns sit at 82°F and U.S. towns at 85°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Mason has about as many jobs (4,044) as working residents, but only 372 people both live and work here. Jobs based here fell from 5,112 in 2011 to 4,044.
Most working residents leave Mason for work: only 11% work in town. Jobs based in Mason fell to 4,044 in 2021, 1,068 fewer than in 2011. 17% of workers work from home in Mason.
| Mason | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 17% | 10% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.3% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 5.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Michigan average. 37% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Michigan.
| Mason | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 26% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 21% | 22% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women. Median age: women 44.5, men 35.8.
| Mason | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.1% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.1% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.7% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.5% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.9% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.4% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.9% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.8% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.6% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.6% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.6% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 24% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.2% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.5% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.1% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The violent crime rate in Mason is 2.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Mason | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.4 per 1,000 residents | 8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Mason home is worth about $277,000, up 2.3% in a year, close to the Michigan typical home.
| Mason | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 69% | 84% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,164 a month | $1,045 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mason. Close and well known come first.
11 mi MuseumEli and Edythe Broad Art Museum150K visitors a year
10 mi Zoo & aquariumPotter Park Zoo
12 mi MuseumR. E. Olds Transportation Museum
34 mi MuseumAmerican Museum of Magic
11 mi GardenW. J. Beal Botanical Garden
10 mi GardenMichigan State University Horticulture GardensEli and Edythe Broad Art Museum: Dj1997, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Potter Park Zoo: Dj1997, CC BY-SA 3.0 · R. E. Olds Transportation Museum: kennethaw88, CC BY 4.0 · American Museum of Magic: rossograph, CC BY-SA 4.0 · W. J. Beal Botanical Garden: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Michigan State University Horticulture Gardens: SweetCanadianMullet, CC BY-SA 4.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Mason
About 3 of every 100 Mason residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
9 places in Mason on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Mason.
City in Michigan, United States
Mason is a city in and the county seat of Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,283 at the 2020 census. Mason was named after Stevens T. Mason, the state's first governor.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Mason.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason | #120 | A− | C+ | B− | A− | A− |
| Vevay Township | #236 | B+ | B− | — | A− | A− |
| Alaiedon Township | #214 | B+ | C | — | A− | A− |
Vevay Township and Alaiedon Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Mason with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Mason grades A− overall, better than 85% of U.S. towns and #120 of 697 in Michigan. It grades A− for health, B− for safety and A− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
9 notable people were born here, including Steve Clark and Alan Curtis.
