Welcome to Mason City ...
The city of Mason City is located in Cerro Gordo County<1> and is the County Seat for Cerro Gordo County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Mason City, you might consider that their post office opened in 1855.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Mason City has a population of 26,945 people<2> (see below for details).
Mason City is 1,120 feet [341 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Mason City lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Mason City lies within the (641) area code.
The ZIP codes for Mason City: 50401-50402<4>
Websites for Mason City ...
Official Website: www.masoncity.net/
Chamber of Commerce: www.masoncityia.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Mason City had an population of 26,945 people. This is a decrease of 4.04% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 7.63% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Mason City had a population of 28,079 people (or 63.6% of the total population of Cerro Gordo County). This makes Mason City the county's most populous community.
The population of Mason City represents 0.92% of the total population of Iowa (which has 3,046,355 people), making it the state's 16th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 28,079 people, the population of Mason City decreased 3.75% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 29,172 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Mason City.
Communities Also Named Mason City ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 5 communities that are also named Mason City - they are located in Alabama, Illinois, Nebraska, Washington and West Virginia.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Mason City.
Communities near Mason City ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Mason City.
- Clear Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Clear Lake is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,517 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clear Lake <5>
- Nora Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nora Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora Springs
- Nora Springs is located in Floyd County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,342 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nora Springs <5>
- Manly
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manly
- Manly is located in Worth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,271 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manly <5>
- Sheffield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south) - Rockwell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockwell have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwell
- Rockwell is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 979 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockwell <5>
- Rockford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockford
- Rockford is located in Floyd County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 813 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockford <5>
- Ventura
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ventura have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventura
- Ventura is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 706 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ventura <5>
- Thornton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
- Thornton is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 401 people
- Plymouth
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Fertile
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fertile have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertile
- Fertile is located in Worth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 356 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fertile <5>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Mason City. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Mason City.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Mason City. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mason City.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Mason City. Our list includes 20 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Mason City.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Mason City ...
Looking for more information about Mason City? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Mason City, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Mason City.
Adding Mason City to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Mason City in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Mason City was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Mason City post office opened in 1855.
We also found Mason City in the book titled Iowa State Gazetteer (1865).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Mason City.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Mason City: www.masoncity.net/
The official website for Cerro Gordo County: www.co.cerro-gordo.ia.us/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Cerro Gordo, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Mason City. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Mason City - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Mason City). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Mason City or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Mason City includes: 50401 & 50402. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |