Best PlacesLodgepole, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lodgepole, 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.
Lodgepole ranks 25,890th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Lodgepole
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.
Lodgepole's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lodgepole ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of towns
- TransitBetter than 89% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 80% of towns
Where Lodgepole ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 14% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 17% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 21% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Lodgepole
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lodgepole home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,088, 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 Lodgepole's effective rate of 1.31%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Lodgepole
Lodgepole's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Lodgepole.
Who works in Lodgepole, and how
Work in Lodgepole centers on education and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Lodgepole
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Lodgepole.
What the weather is like in Lodgepole, month by month
Lodgepole sees roughly 102 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 26° | 13° |
| April | 65° | 46° | 30° |
| July | 92° | 74° | 58° |
| October | 66° | 48° | 33° |
Flying in and out of Lodgepole
The nearest airport, Alliance Municipal, is about 63 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 139 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lodgepole
Schools across Lodgepole average a B−, better than 56% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Leyton Elementary/junior High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Garden County Elementary SchB · 45% proficient
- Creek Valley Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Leyton High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Garden County Junior/senior High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Creek Valley High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lodgepole school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lodgepole 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 Lodgepole against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Lodgepole
Is Lodgepole a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lodgepole ranks 25,890th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, clean air, and transit, and lowest on tree cover and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lodgepole expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $155,515. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $67,088 median income, cost of living beats 55% of towns.
Is Lodgepole safe?
Lodgepole is safer than 21% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $425 per resident a year.
Compare Lodgepole with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lodgepole. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lodgepole 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.
Lodgepole detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lodgepole: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lodgepole: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lodgepole: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lodgepole: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lodgepole 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.