Mason City, IA
Recent Mason City Council topics include budget & taxes.
Topics found in recent meetings
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Official website pages
Mason CityIA averageUS Census ACS
Typical home value $160,387 +1.6% yr/yr · +23.2% 5-yr
Home-value trend 2009–2026 (Zillow ZHVI)
Municipal budget
Total revenue$69.8M (FY2023)
Total spending$66.2M (FY2023)
Taxes$27.4M (FY2023)
Debt outstanding$56.1M (FY2023)
Spending per resident$2,440 (FY2023)
Development activity
Housing units permitted — US Census Building Permits Survey
202541 housing units ($7.0M)
Upcoming
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Fri Oct 30, 2026
November 3, 2026 Council Meeting
Recent meetings
💰 Federal awards (top 10 by amount)
Largest recent federal contract/grant awards to recipients in this city (2023–present), via USAspending.gov.
| $1.7M | GOOD SHEPHERD GERIATRIC CENTER, INC. Department of Veterans Affairs · EXPRESS REPORT: FY25 NH SPEND |
| $1.4M | GOOD SHEPHERD GERIATRIC CENTER, INC. Department of Veterans Affairs · EXPRESS REPORT: NURSING HOME SERVICES - 1ST QUARTER SPEND |
| $1.2M | GOOD SHEPHERD GERIATRIC CENTER, INC. Department of Veterans Affairs · EXPRESS REPORT: FY24 NH SPEND |
| $1.1M | GOOD SHEPHERD GERIATRIC CENTER, INC. Department of Veterans Affairs · EXPRESS REPORT: FY23 NH SPEND |
| $245,130 | PETROBLEND CORP. Department of Defense · PURCHASE AND DELIVERY OF SMOKE OIL IN ACCORDANCE WITH ATTACHMENT 1 - S |
| $174,886 | PETROBLEND CORP. Department of Defense · USAFADS SMOKE OIL |
| $123,665 | METALCRAFT, INC. Department of State · GLOBAL ASSET TAGS FOR ALL DEPARTMENT OF STATE PROPERTY DOMESTIC AND AB |
| $43,320 | METALCRAFT, INC. Department of State · INCREMENTAL FUNDING FOR ASSET TAGS |
| $39,266 | METALCRAFT, INC. Department of State · INCREMENTAL FUNDING FOR ASSET TAGS IGF::CL::IGF |
| $18,086 | METALCRAFT, INC. Department of State · BPA CALL ORDER FOR METALCRAFT INC. BARCODES WITH A PERIOD OF PERFORMAN |
Source: USAspending.gov (U.S. Treasury) — federal awards only, not city budgets.
🌐 County-level context (Cerro Gordo County)
County-level context — from BLS, IRS, FEMA, HUD, Census. These figures cover the whole county this city sits in, not just the city itself.
Traffic fatalities2 (2 pedestrian · 2024)
Business establishments1,357 (20,024 employees · 2023)
Fair Market Rent (2BR)$917/mo (704 assisted households · 2025)
Adults with low literacy13.1% (low numeracy 21% · 2017)
Sources: BLS LAUS, IRS SOI, FEMA, NHTSA FARS, Census CBP, HUD, NCES PIAAC
City profile
Everything below is drawn from this city’s own public record and primary-source government data. AI-written summaries are a finding aid, not a citable quote.
$69.8M
Annual budget
$56.1M
Debt outstanding
41
Permitted housing units
The money — in
source: Census gov-finance & state comptrollerBudget
Revenue$69.8M
Spending$66.2M
Revenue ran ahead of operating spending this year.
Debt load MODERATE
Outstanding debt$56.1M
Debt-to-revenue0.80×
Debt-load index62 / 100
A debt-load indicator (national percentile of debt, deficit & aid-reliance) — not a solvency verdict. Cross-checked against official state fiscal-stress scores where they exist.
Outcomes — economic mobility
source: Opportunity Atlas (Harvard) · research useFor kids who grew up here in low-income households, their adult household-income rank (0–1). The average hides a gap by race:
Research-only layer, shown here for context — not included in the CC BY 4.0 bulk download.
Where it’s happening
geocoded land-use decisions🗺 Interactive map
Every rezoning, development approval, and permit — explore the geocoded records in the research explorer.