Population Shift
The basis for any housing study is understanding the population trends and then breaking down the data by other characteristics to determine the housing needs of the community. For Mason City, the population in 2000 was 29,330 people but has since experienced a decline – from 28,079 people in 2010 to 27,338 people in 2020. Over the past decade the population declined by -2.027% annually. During this same period, Cerro Gordo County also experienced a decline. However, the share of Mason City’s population loss – 741 people- accounted for 72% of the county’s overall decline versus 48% in the past two 10-year periods. More people are choosing to live elsewhere in the county, whether that’s just outside the Mason City’s jurisdiction or in another community within Cerro Gordo County.
Employment Trends
LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION
Mason City’s labor force participation rate is on par with that of Cerro Gordo County and the state overall. As a result of the Great Recession, Mason City experienced a long decline in the number of people employed, with a trough in 2015 with 14,569 people employed and rebound peaking in 2019 with 15,082 people employed. However, unemployment rates dropped precipitously during the same period from 7.2% in 2009 to 2.9% in 2019. One caveat is the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic that pushed labor force participation down to 2014 figures and unemployment upwards to 5.7%, the highest it has been since 2012.
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median household income
Median household income is a standard metric of what a typical household could afford for housing and other goods. Mason City's rate of $50,397 is $10,126 or 16.7% less than what is experienced a statewide level. When compared to the county, these rates are more in line: just $3,566, or 7.1% less than Cerro Gordo County.
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Commuting Trends
Commuting provides an indicator of the amount of time it takes residents of Mason City to travel to work daily. Mason City residents have an average commute of 15.8 minutes, which is lower than the countywide and statewide mean – 16.9 and 19.3 minutes, respectively. A lower commute time indicates opportunity in and around the community, which is backed up by the long term growth of employment mentioned in a previous section (see Figure 7). However, of the laborshed shows Mason City as a regional hub for employment.
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HOUSING Trends
Evaluating the housing occupancy and tenure data helps to better understand if the available housing stock is meeting the needs of the current residents. The share of owner-occupied versus renter-occupied units is a major indicator within this 64.3 % category, 64.3 highlighting % the ability for new residents to move in and existing residents to move up and out as families grow and change over time.
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