Mason, Illinois

Mason is an incorporated town in Effingham County, Illinois, United States. The population was 323 at the 2020 census. It was named after Roswell Mason, an official of the Illinois Central Railroad. Mason is part of the Effingham, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography
Mason is located in southern Effingham County. Illinois Route 37 passes through the town, leading northeast 6 mi to Watson and southwest 3 mi to Edgewood. Interstate 57 crosses the northwest corner of Mason, but the closest access is from Edgewood to the southwest or from Exit 151 4 mi to the northeast. Via I-57 it is 14 mi north to Effingham, the county seat, and 55 mi southwest to Mount Vernon.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Mason has a total area of 1.29 sqmi, of which 1.29 sqmi (or 99.61%) is land and 0.01 sqmi (or 0.39%) is water.

Demographics
As of the 2020 census there were 323 people, 107 households, and 74 families residing in the town. The population density was 250.00 PD/sqmi. There were 154 housing units at an average density of 119.20 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 88.85% White, 0.93% African American, 0.62% Native American, 1.24% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 1.86% from other races, and 6.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.86% of the population.

There were 107 households, out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.94% were married couples living together, 7.48% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.84% were non-families. 23.36% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.15% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 2.27.

The town's age distribution consisted of 18.5% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 115.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $53,750, and the median income for a family was $58,000. Males had a median income of $37,292 versus $21,806 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,940. About 9.5% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.7% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

 * Lowell Bayles, air race pilot
 * Ada Kepley, author and first American woman to graduate law school, owned a farm in Mason township
 * Mason Ruffner, singer, songwriter, musician