Living in Mason City, IA
Small city in Iowa
Mason City is a small city in Iowa, home to about 27,000 people, with 85,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, most trips are by car. Life moves at a slow, calm pace, and homes are mostly houses.
Is Mason City a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $163k and rents for $1,230 a month
- Dog-friendly: 3 dog parks within 9 mi
- Mild summers: highs around 80°F
- Low natural disaster risk: 4 federally declared disasters since 2000
👎 Cons
- Smaller job market: about 85,000 people live within 31 mi
- Quieter on culture: few museums and attractions nearby
- Fewer graduates: 21% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
- Fewer family amenities than most places
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Mason City ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Mason City: common questions
What is the cost of living in Mason City?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $163k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $1,230 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are below the US average (index 88, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Mason City?
Iowa collects about $1,192 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 1.66% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Mason City safe?
Violent crime is well above the national rate (1.7× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Mason City?
Public schools in Mason City test below the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 15 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Mason City?
Mason City has long, snowy winters: winter days average around 28°F and summer days around 80°F, with roughly 44″ of snow a year.
Does Mason City get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is moderate, mainly from flooding and tornadoes: 4 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 1.11 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Mason City?
The nearest major airport is DSM, about 114 mi away.
How Mason City scores
Each bar compares Mason City with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like Mason City
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in Iowa.
Is Mason City right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.