MASON CITY – Today, city hall says Mason City is one of the safest towns in Iowa, referencing a list compiled by BackgroundChecks.org.
Mason City has been named as one of the 15 Safest Cities in Iowa for 2016 according to BackgroundChecks.org. The list was compiled based on FBI violent crime stats and proprietary BackgroundChecks.org research data. Rates are normalized per 100,000 residents with the state average being 273 for violent crime and 2,094 for property crime. This is calculated by taking (# of crimes/population) * 100,000. Mason City ranked #10 in the list.
A city in Cerro Gordo County, Mason City is home to 28,000 residents. Also the county seat, the community lies on the banks of the Winnebago River, is known for its Prairie School architecture, and is famous as the birthplace of Meredith Wilson, who created the famous musical “The Music Man.” The violent crime rate in Mason City is 142.6, and the chance of being involved in a property crime here is 4.9%.
Spencer, Waukee and Ankeny were the top three safest towns on the list. Dubuque was number 15, where two crosses were reportedly burned recently and a group of Chicago heroin dealers were busted the next day.