Mason, Ohio

Area Profile

35,509 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Mason, in Warren County.

80out of 100
Area Score
Top 1% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 3% of 4,199 cities measured84
SchoolsTop 15% of 4,162 cities measured78
GrowthTop 8% of 4,224 cities measured76
Housing affordabilityTop 11% of 4,218 cities measured81
Climate2,860th of 4,225 cities measured64
Physical resilienceTop 11% of 4,226 cities measured90
Access2,771st of 4,226 cities measured88
Economic stabilityTop 10% of 4,226 cities measured76
The quick read

Mason ranks in the top 3% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.0% and median household income of $125,401.

Public schools test above most of the state: 87% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 15% of published profiles for schools.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 169 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 173% on the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
35,509
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$125,401
Top 9% nationally
Density
1,823/sq mi
19.5 sq mi of land
Median age
42.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Ohio
Nearest major airport
ILN
27 mi · Wilmington Air Park
Median home value
$426,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.0%, lower than in 93% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 0.6% over the past year, to 19,057 employed residents.

60% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 93% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $125,401 is higher than in 91% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsWarren County, OH’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$87,24670th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftWarren County, OH’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$88,05274th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$9,6822024 ACS 5-Year$125,401Top 9%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$5,7862024 ACS 5-Year$64,784Top 8%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year3.8%Top 18%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.8 minTop 50%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year60.4%Top 7%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year70.6%29th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202619,057Bottom 21%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+0.3%Top 41%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.6%Top 25%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202619,64221st percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year83.5%Top 30%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageCincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$67,370Bottom 46%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageCincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$50,170Bottom 44%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%77th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.0%Top 12%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.0%Top 7%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year23.4%90th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.22.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.0% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024125k111k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $125,401 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers30,950$29,720
General and Operations Managers29,330$100,670
Retail Salespersons28,670$30,810
Registered Nurses28,520$83,650
Stockers and Order Fillers26,870$37,810
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand22,910$40,240

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

87% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 86% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 21.6 students for every full-time teacher across 4 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
4
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
21.6
across all schools here
Math proficiency
87.4%
Top 3% in Ohio
Reading proficiency
85.6%
Top 6% in Ohio
All 4 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
William Mason High SchoolMason City3,43524.583%86%
Mason Intermediate Elementary SchoolMason City3,08620.392%84%
Mason Early Childhood Center Elementary SchoolMason City1,99720.8——
Mason Middle SchoolMason City1,63719.788%88%

17.0% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Ohio’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 6% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 94.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area is up 50% over five years, and up 3.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $5,017 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.18% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,360, below the $1,760 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,360 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $54,400 a year, about 43% of the median household income here of $125,401.

The typical renter household here spends 26% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,760 a month.

A median home at $426,200 costs 3.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $136,771, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
94.2

Prices here run about 6% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
25.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,360
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,760
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$426,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Mason’s median household income of $125,401, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area’s figure202394.2Top 22%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.8%63rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+49.9%78th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+105.8%70th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.1Bottom 32%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year80.1%59th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5302024 ACS 5-Year13,86696th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,060Top 27%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,790Top 34%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,360Top 33%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1202024 ACS 5-Year$1,760Bottom 12%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$28,9952024 ACS 5-Year$426,20084th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$4582024 ACS 5-Year$5,01790th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$11,3142024 ACS 5-Year$136,771Top 10%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.13%2024 ACS 5-Year1.18%62nd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year25.8%Top 36%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±272024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.6%24th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2062024 ACS 5-Year36486th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

76/ 100
Top 8% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 3% since 2020, reaching 36,046 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 101 units authorized in 2025, against 16 the year before.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 36,046 residents in 2024, up 0.5% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 169 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Warren County, which contains Mason, gained about 0.2% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $87,246, close to the $88,052 of households that moved out.

At 4.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
169
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.8
Top 30% nationally
Year over year
+173%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202436k35k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
30%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$87,246
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$88,052
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Butler County, OH 2,693 people · 20% of arrivals
  2. Hamilton County, OH 2,554 people · 19% of arrivals
  3. Montgomery County, OH 1,801 people · 13% of arrivals
  4. Clermont County, OH 658 people · 4.9% of arrivals
  5. Greene County, OH 431 people · 3.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Butler County, OH 2,317 people · 18% of departures
  2. Hamilton County, OH 1,915 people · 15% of departures
  3. Montgomery County, OH 1,621 people · 12% of departures
  4. Clermont County, OH 859 people · 6.6% of departures
  5. Clinton County, OH 378 people · 2.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Warren County, OH. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202514816
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−21%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 22°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 41.4 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 43, in the Good band, and about 6 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station HAMILTON BUTLER CO RGNL AP, 12.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year642024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals41.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals22°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year62024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year432024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
43
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
64
90th percentile index
Days above 100
6
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

90 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 63% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 89% of measured US cities.

Ice stormModerate
TornadoElevated
Strong windModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, lightning, cold wave, winter weather, earthquake, landslide, hail, drought, wildfire, hurricane, avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
69
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
776
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Mason's police department reported 69 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 776.

Warren County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.6 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 5.9 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 6.7 per 100,000 residents in Warren County.

Homicide
1.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
5.9
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
6.7
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
11.9
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Mason’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Mason (Warren County) rather than Mason itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Wilmington Air Park at 27 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year96.3%Top 19%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle27 miBottom 31%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year2.4%Top 21%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Wilmington Air ParkILN27 mi10,701 ft
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky IntlCVG29 mi10,000 ft
James M Cox Dayton IntlDAY38 mi8,502 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
80
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Other cities in Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
CincinnatiHamilton County311,22464Cincinnati vs Mason
HamiltonButler County63,46862Hamilton vs Mason
MiddletownButler County51,61763Middletown vs Mason
FairfieldButler County44,82862
CovingtonKenton County41,11065
FlorenceBoone County32,80371
IndependenceKenton County29,39278
OxfordButler County21,75362
LebanonWarren County21,50172
Forest ParkHamilton County20,02563
SpringboroWarren County19,98080
ErlangerKenton County19,87567

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Mason side by side with a similar place.

Mason vs SpringboroMason vs Urbandale

Moving to Mason from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Mason

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Mason with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Mason closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4504059,518$133,240$440,000—