Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 35,834, settled in 1815. Public schools that outperform most of Ohio.
Few places in the country grade higher. Mason earns an A, ranked 61st of 987 in Ohio. The median household earns $125K, its public schools beat 93% of Ohio towns on state tests and graduation, and it is healthier than 90% of U.S. towns. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $504K, 6.2 years of the Cincinnati metro’s $81K median household income. 60% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Mason, above both the Ohio town median (24%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). The biggest park or preserve is Sundin Fields at Heritage Oak Park, at 81 acres.
Where Mason beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Mason Intermediate Elementary School | 3–6 | 3,086 |
| Mason Early Childhood Center Elementary School | PK–2 | 1,997 |
| St. Susanna Elementary School | K–8 | 628 |
30,712 counted in 2010 and 34,792 in 2020; an estimated 35,834 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Mason is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 431 in 1850, 34,792 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1980 and 5 maps from 1904 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mason. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town Theme parkKings Island3.5M visitors a year
31 mi MuseumNational Museum of the United States Air Force1.0M visitors a year
22 mi Stadium & arenaPaycor Stadium
21 mi Stadium & arenaGreat American Ball Park
20 mi Stadium & arenaNippert Stadium
19 mi Zoo & aquariumCincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden1.2M visitors a yearKings Island: Eli Duke from Portland, OR, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · National Museum of the United States Air Force: No machine-readable author provided. Rogerd assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Paycor Stadium: JonRidinger, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Great American Ball Park: Eric Kilby profile at Flickr website, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Nippert Stadium: Ben Levin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden: Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.5
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 Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Mason.
Mason draws workers from Cincinnati and beyond, but it has seen reported crime rise by a third or more and has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Ohio.
At 6.2 years of the Cincinnati metro’s $81K median household income, the typical home (about $505K) costs more against local pay than in 95% of Ohio towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $5,017, against $2,822 across Ohio, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Mason is $1,760 a month. The typical Mason home is worth about $505,000, up 1.3% in a year, about twice the Ohio typical home.
| Mason | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,760 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 80% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $505K.
Its public schools are run by the Mason City school district. Three of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mason Intermediate Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–6 | Grades 3–6 | 3,086 | A |
| William Mason High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 3,435 | A |
| Mason Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 1,637 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
16 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. Mason’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile.
| Mason | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 8.3% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Corwin M. Nixon Pine Hill Lakes Park | 4 mi | 130 |
| 2. Sundin Fields at Heritage Oak Park | 0.3 mi | 81 |
| 3. Mason Sports Park | 0.1 mi | 53 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
27,870 jobs are based in Mason, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 17,530 in 2013 to 27,870.
Most working residents leave Mason for work: only 14% work in town. 23% of workers work from home in Mason. Since 2013, Mason has added 10,340 jobs, to 27,870 in 2023.
| Mason | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 23% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $125,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.6% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 6.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its widest gap with Ohio is tooth loss: 7.3% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 15.3% statewide.
21% of Mason adults have been diagnosed with depression. Mason beats the Ohio average on 23 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 31% of Mason adults have obesity.
| Mason | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 15% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 16% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 28% | 25% |
| What stands out | Mason | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.3% | 15.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.1% | 14.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 92% of U.S. communities. Since 2001, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mason.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes rose from 218 to 301 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 22 reported in 2025, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Mason has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 22° and about 14 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
6 within 15 miles of the center of Mason
About 5 of every 100 Mason residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Ohio.
Where Mason’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
6 notable people were born in Mason.
City in Ohio, United States
Mason is a city in southwestern Warren County, Ohio, United States. The population was 34,792 at the 2020 census. Located approximately 22 miles (35 km) north of downtown Cincinnati, it is home to Fortune 500 corporation Cintas, the Kings Island amusement park, and the Lindner Family Tennis Center, home of the Cincinnati Open.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Mason.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason | #61 | A | C− | A− | A | A |
| Deerfield Township | #73 | A | C− | — | A | A |
| Union Township | #456 | B | C | — | A− | B+ |
| Kings Mills | — | — | C− | — | A | A |
| Turtlecreek Township | #633 | B− | D | — | A− | B− |
| Lebanon | #264 | A− | C+ | B | A− | B |
| Landen | #22 | A+ | C | — | A | A |
| Hamilton Township | #132 | A | C− | A | A− | A− |
Kings Mills has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Deerfield Township, Union Township, Kings Mills, Turtlecreek Township and Landen report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Mason with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Mason grades A overall, better than 94% of U.S. towns and #61 of 987 in Ohio. It grades A for health, A− for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
6 notable people were born here, including Brant Daugherty and Majel Coleman.
