A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Mason$560/mo

Typical home $83K (Census) · tax rate 1.80% · or rent about $911/mo · Housing →

Ashley$960/mo

Typical home $148K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.45% · or rent about $729/mo · Housing →

The difference: $400 a month, about $4,800 a year, between Ashley and Mason.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

MasonAshley

Snow a year15″12″

January low20°F 21°F

July high89°F 87°F

Growing season (days)191d 201d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)52nd 71st

Outdoors & history

MasonAshley

Trails—0 mi

Conserved land—0%

Settled1865 —

Community

MasonAshley

Library hours a week—15 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

53 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

MasonIL AshleyIL

Mason ↔ Ashley53 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Illinois average

MasonAshley

People

Population 467Highest 412Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census — -13.8%

Median age 29.8±11.3Lowest 24% below IL 32.7±6.4Highest 16% below IL

Ashley and Mason are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 32.3%±10Lowest IL: 21.8% 35%±5.5Highest IL: 21.8%

Ashley and Mason are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 10.7%±2.7Lowest IL: 17% 14.1%±7Highest IL: 17%

Ashley and Mason are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 5%Highest IL: 37.8% 1.9%Lowest IL: 37.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 0.9%±3Highest IL: 6.3% 0%±4.5Lowest IL: 6.3%

Mason and Ashley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $65,455±$12kHighest 22% below IL $49,559±$6kLowest 41% below IL

Mason and Ashley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $82,900±$14kHighest 69% below IL $82,500±$28kLowest 69% below IL

Mason and Ashley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $911±$584Highest 28% below IL $729±$75Lowest 43% below IL

Mason and Ashley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,491Highest 72% below IL $1,198Lowest 77% below IL

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 59.1%±82.2Highest IL: 47.9% 50%±59.3Lowest IL: 47.9%

Mason and Ashley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 35.5%Highest IL: 11.8% 34.3%Lowest IL: 11.8%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 78%Highest IL: 67.1% 74.7%Lowest IL: 67.1%

Typical home builtmedian year 1973Highest 2 yrs newer than IL 1958Lowest 13 yrs older than IL

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 23 minLowest 16% below IL 26 minHighest 5% below IL

Work from home 4.4%±5.2Highest IL: 15.9% 0.7%±1.3Lowest IL: 15.9%

Mason and Ashley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 0%Lowest 1.8%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 14.3 miLowest 24.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.01Lowest 0.32Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Effingham (39%)Nashville (19%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in AshleyFew work in Mason

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0% 0%

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0Lowest 1Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 32.6Lowest 46.2Highest

Illinois average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Mason neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mason’s Town Square.

Ashley neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Ashley’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Mason and Ashley

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Towns like Mason

+ Compare

Versailles441 people · $91K homes

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Millersburg Township588 people · $88K homes

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Joy387 people · $76K homes

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Willisville467 people · $57K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Mason vs Ashley

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $400 more a month in Ashley

What daily life feels like in each

53 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Mason and Ashley

Towns like Mason

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