Charleston United Methodist Church and Cemetery · Photo: Spencer Kellum · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Mason have lower incomes than those in 90% of U.S. towns
Mason grades D for jobs and income and D− for walkability. The poverty rate is 31.0% (Tennessee 13.8%). 5% of workers have no commute at all (Tennessee 13%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Mason apart on work
Mason is a place people come home to
There are 47 jobs based in Mason, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Mason has about 920 people in it, 31% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
One in three of Mason works in Memphis
153 working residents, 33%, have their main job in Memphis, 32 miles away. That’s 17 times as many as work in Mason itself. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 466 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Mason gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty and job access, Mason is better than 10% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Mason’s grade up (ahead of 45% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
Unemployment (6.1%) is left out: Mason’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Mason could be anywhere from D to C.
In and out of Mason on a workday
On a workday 459 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 40 people come in from elsewhere.
About 920 people are in Mason on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
0.10 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
33% of working residents work in Memphis
Where Mason clocks in
33% of workers
11% of workers
5% 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.
Mason is a services town
47 jobs are based in Mason.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mason, 2013 → 2023: 182 → 47. 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 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Mason’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Mason: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mason workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 304 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Tennessee: 87% 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.
How far Mason’s workers travel
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most of Mason commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mason is near the bottom of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Mason near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 319 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). 0.6% of Mason households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Mason’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Mason is 4,457th of 5,400 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 378 | Rossville TN | 1,215 | $120K | 7.3% | 6.1% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 825 | Orlinda TN | 1,028 | $84K | 6.4% | 3.1% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 921 | Unionville TN | 1,275 | $71K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,455 | Fairhaven Township MI | 1,059 | $61K | 15.2% | 0.6% | 2% | D |
| 4,456 | Earle AR | 1,721 | $32K | 36.2% | 16.9% | 8% | D |
| 4,457 | Mason TN | 1,342 | $48K | 31.0% | 6.1% | 2% | D |
| 4,458 | Big Mound Township IL | 1,713 | $35K | 29.0% | 4.6% | 16% | D |
| 4,459 | Woodbridge Township MI | 1,308 | $67K | 27.2% | 4.6% | 4% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,400 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Tennessee.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, 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?
$47,794 (±$19,043) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mason?
31.0%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mason?
29 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mason work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Memphis (33%, 32 mi), Covington (11%, 12 mi), Jackson (5%, 43 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Mason walkable?
Mason is near the bottom of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 3.1 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mason without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
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), 2023, 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.