Best PlacesDowntown Lorain, Lorain, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Lorain, Lorain, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Downtown Lorain, Lorain ranks 5,381st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Lorain, Lorain
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Downtown Lorain, Lorain's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Lorain, Lorain ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 68% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 67% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 66% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Lorain, Lorain ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Household income$42,695 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Lorain, Lorain
A household needs to earn about $27,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Lorain, Lorain home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $42,695, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Downtown Lorain, Lorain's effective rate of 1.35%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown Lorain, Lorain
Downtown Lorain, Lorain runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Downtown Lorain, Lorain.
Who works in Downtown Lorain, Lorain, and how
Work in Downtown Lorain, Lorain centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Downtown Lorain, Lorain
Downtown Lorain, Lorain has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 92% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown Lorain, Lorain and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Lorain, Lorain, month by month
Downtown Lorain, Lorain sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 28° | 21° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 38° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 68° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Downtown Lorain, Lorain
Cleveland-Hopkins International sits about 17 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.9 million passengers in 2025, with 72 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Downtown Lorain, Lorain
Schools across Downtown Lorain, Lorain average a D, better than 16% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Larkmoor Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
- Constellation Schools: Lorain Community ElementaryD · 20% proficient
- Hawthorne Elementary SchoolD · 17% proficient
Top middle schools
- Constellation Schools: Lorain Community MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- General Johnnie Wilson Middle SchoolD · 19% proficient
- Longfellow Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- New BeginningsD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Lorain, Lorain school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Lorain, Lorain measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Downtown Lorain, Lorain against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown Lorain, Lorain
Is Downtown Lorain, Lorain a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Lorain, Lorain ranks 5,381st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low disaster risk, and quiet, and lowest on health outcomes and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Lorain, Lorain expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $97,276. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $42,695 median income, cost of living beats 17% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Lorain, Lorain safe?
Downtown Lorain, Lorain is safer than 24% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $633 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown Lorain, Lorain with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Lorain, Lorain. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Lorain, Lorain represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Downtown Lorain, Lorain detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Lorain, Lorain: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Lorain, Lorain: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Lorain, Lorain: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Lorain, Lorain: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Lorain, Lorain detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.