Mason County, Illinois Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Mason County, IL Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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B
Health Around averageLess healthy than 79% of counties in Illinois
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C
Income Below average
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F
Education Well below averageLess educated than 83% of counties in Illinois
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Mason County | Illinois Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 12,741 | 12,692,444 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 22.6 | 219.1 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | -1.11% | -0.16% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 45.6 | 37.4 | 37.3 |
| Households | 5,779 | 5,035,584 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Mason County declined by 15.5% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 12,741 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Mason County is Gen X, aged 45–60, at 22.1% of residents. That is 1.7 points above Illinois as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 2,232 17.5% -3.7 pts
- Millennials 29–44 2,302 18.1% -3.8 pts
- Gen X 45–60 2,815 22.1% +1.7 pts
- Boomers 61–79 2,764 21.7% +4.8 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Illinois, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 51.0% of the people living in Mason County and men 49.0%.
- Women 51.0% Illinois 50.6%
- Men 49.0% Illinois 49.4%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Mason County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Mason County has a the economy index of C, which means it is somewhat prosperous.
| Metric | Mason County | Illinois Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $62,566 | $84,042 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 4.65% | 4.46% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.9% | 5.8% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Mason County is about 26% lower than in Illinois.
Housing
| Metric | Mason County | Illinois Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $44,999 | $149,936 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $802 | $1,274 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 81.8% | 67.1% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Mason County is about 4.7 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $802 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Mason County spend about 57 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 237 hours, about 9.9 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Mason County | Illinois Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 28.5 | 23.6 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 57.0 | 47.3 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 237 | 197 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $7,358 | $6,104 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 8.2% | 15.9% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 2,792 | 7,977 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 406 | 1,547 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Illinois:
Edgar County (12.0 min), Brown County (12.7 min), Morgan County (13.1 min).
Slowest:
Calhoun County (43.8 min), Pulaski County (31.2 min), Pope County (31.0 min).
The average commute time in Mason County is 28 minutes, longer than the 24 minutes in Illinois.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Mason County has a education index of F, which means it scores poorly in education.
| Metric | Mason County | Illinois Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 16.3% | 34.1% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.16 | 2.46 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Illinois:
DuPage County (0.4), Champaign County (0.4), Lake County (0.4).
Lowest:
Hardin County (0.2), Fayette County (0.2), Perry County (0.2).
Health
Mason County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.
| Metric | Mason County | Illinois Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 76.0 | 77.9 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 16.9% | 15.6% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 20.5% | 19.2% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Illinois:
DuPage County (0.8), Champaign County (0.8), Monroe County (0.8).
Lowest:
Alexander County (0.8), Pulaski County (0.8), Gallatin County (0.8).
Mason County, IL Compared With Nearby Counties
Mason County, IL is the smallest of the 4 counties compared here, 12,741 residents against a local median of 130,271. Where Mason County, IL breaks from the counties next to it is commute, sitting 52% above the local median of 18.8 min at 28.5 min. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
Median home price tells the same story from another angle: $44,999 against a local median of $74,502, 40% below it. Every measure here with a clear better direction points the same way, and it is the wrong way: Mason County, IL reads weaker than its neighbours on all of them. The counties themselves sit within 2.4 min of each other on commute, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Mason County, IL, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Mason County, IL has the 4th lowest commute of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason County, IL | 12,741 | $62,566 #3/4 | $44,999 #4/4 | 28.5 min #4/4 |
| Fulton County, IL | 33,018 | $60,876 | $74,502 | 18.8 min |
| Tazewell County, IL | 130,271 | $77,722 | $161,953 | 20.0 min |
| Sangamon County, IL | 194,875 | $75,401 | $66,497 | 17.6 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Mason County, Illinois.
How big is Mason County, Illinois by population?
About 12,741 people live in Mason County, Illinois, in 5,779 households of 2.2 people on average. The median age is 45.6, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 8 years.
Is Mason County, Illinois urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Mason County, Illinois has 23 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 26% of the U.S. average of 86.
How affordable is housing in Mason County, Illinois?
The median home costs 0.7 times the median household income ($44,999 against $62,566), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $802 a month takes about 15% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
What share of adults in Mason County, Illinois have a college degree?
16.3% of adults in Mason County, Illinois hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 6), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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