Photo: No machine-readable author provided. LilDice assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 2.5Fewer people are out of work in Mason (2.9%) than in 71% of U.S. towns
Commuters spend 23 minutes getting to work on average; Michigan averages 24, the U.S. 26. Mason grades A− for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in ten work in Mason itself; outside it, Lansing draws the most (21%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Mason and work: the main findings
Mason trades workers with the towns around it
Mason has about as many jobs (4,044) as working residents (3,415), but they are mostly different people: 3,043 residents leave for work each day while 3,672 people come in. Only 9% of the jobs in Mason are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Mason and Lansing trade workers both ways
Lansing is the top workplace for Mason residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Mason come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; 2021 is the newest year Michigan has published.
Inside Mason’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Mason is better than 80% of U.S. towns, #144 of 701 in Michigan. The poverty rate is its strongest input (5.3%, U.S. 12.5%); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($79,117, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is two years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Mason could be anywhere from B to A.
How a workday changes Mason
On a workday 3,043 residents head out to work, 372 work right here, and 3,672 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.18 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
The places Mason commutes to
Where Mason clocks in
21% of workers
8% 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 4,044 jobs based in Mason
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mason, 2011 → 2021: 5,112 → 4,044. 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 2021.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Mason’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Mason: about 23 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mason workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,399 commuters (the 17% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The distance from Mason to work
About 21% 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 2021.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Driving is how Mason gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mason is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #173 of 701 in Michigan. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.8% across Michigan.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,085 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 8% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 47% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.9% of Mason households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Mason’s commuters take a bus or train.
783rd of 3,012: where Mason ranks among U.S. towns of 5,800 to 11,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 781 | Perry Township IN | 9,376 | $87K | 8.4% | 0.8% | 5% | A− |
| 782 | Laketon Township MI | 7,721 | $98K | 5.6% | 2.4% | 4% | A− |
| 783 | Mason MI | 8,264 | $79K | 5.3% | 2.9% | 11% | A− |
| 784 | Robeson Township PA | 7,805 | $93K | 8.1% | 2.6% | 6% | A− |
| 785 | Vero Lake Estates FL | 6,559 | $83K | 5.3% | 0.0% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,012 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
How Mason compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Alaiedon Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mason workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason | – | A− | B | 23 min | $79,117 |
| Vevay Township | under 2% | B | D− | 27 min | $110,000 |
| Alaiedon Township | 4% | B+ | B− | 21 min | $94,042 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Mason’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2021, 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: questions
What is the median household income in Mason?
$79,117 (±$7,875) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mason?
5.3%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mason?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mason work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lansing (21%, 11 mi), East Lansing (8%, 12 mi), Delta Township (5%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Mason walkable?
Mason is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 11.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mason without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 8% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mason, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mason
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2021, 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.