Best PlacesLomax, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lomax, 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.
Lomax ranks 42,465th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Lomax
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.
Lomax's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lomax ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 97% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 77% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 72% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 72% of towns
- BikingBetter than 71% of towns
Where Lomax ranks low
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Lomax
A household needs to earn about $27,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lomax home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $49,534, 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 Lomax's effective rate of 1.46%, 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 Lomax
Lomax'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 Lomax.
Who works in Lomax, and how
Work in Lomax centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Lomax
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Lomax.
What the weather is like in Lomax, month by month
Lomax sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 25° | 19° |
| April | 64° | 52° | 42° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 66° | 55° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Lomax
The nearest airport, Southeast Iowa Regional, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 138 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lomax
Schools across Lomax average an F, better than 1% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Nauvoo Elem SchoolD · 20% proficient
- West Central Elementary SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Central Middle SchoolF · 4% proficient
Top high schools
- Illini West High SchoolD · 20% proficient
- West Central High SchoolF · 8% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lomax school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lomax 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 Lomax against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Lomax
Is Lomax a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lomax ranks 42,465th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a stable housing market, state infrastructure, and a strong job market, and lowest on the schools and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lomax expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $95,308. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $49,534 median income, cost of living beats 21% of towns.
Is Lomax safe?
Yes, Lomax is safer than 72% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $182 per resident a year.
Compare Lomax with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lomax. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lomax 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.
Lomax detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lomax: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lomax: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lomax: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lomax: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lomax 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.