Best PlacesLost Nation, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lost Nation, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Lost Nation ranks 15,968th 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 Lost Nation
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.
Lost Nation's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lost Nation ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 94% of towns
- School gradeA, better than 90% of towns
- QuietBetter than 88% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 86% of towns
Where Lost Nation ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 8% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 17% of towns
- Short commute32.0 minutes each way, better than only 24% of towns
- Household income$61,341 median, better than only 30% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 32% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Lost Nation
A household needs to earn about $29,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lost Nation home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,341, 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 Lost Nation's effective rate of 0.96%, 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 Lost Nation
Lost Nation runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Lost Nation.
Who works in Lost Nation, and how
Work in Lost Nation centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Lost Nation
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Lost Nation.
What the weather is like in Lost Nation, month by month
Lost Nation sees roughly 86 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 21° | 14° |
| April | 60° | 48° | 38° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Lost Nation
The nearest airport, Dubuque Regional, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 150 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lost Nation
Schools across Lost Nation average an A, better than 90% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Delwood Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Ekstrand Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Midland ElementaryA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central Dewitt Intermediate SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
- Maquoketa Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Central Dewitt High SchoolA · 77% proficient
- Maquoketa Community High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
- Calamus-wheatland Sec Attendance CenterA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lost Nation school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lost Nation 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 Lost Nation against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Lost Nation
Is Lost Nation a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lost Nation ranks 15,968th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, a stable housing market, and good schools, and lowest on tree cover and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lost Nation expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $108,450. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $61,341 median income, cost of living beats 32% of towns.
Is Lost Nation safe?
Lost Nation is safer than 52% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $279 per resident a year.
Compare Lost Nation with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lost Nation. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lost Nation 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.
Lost Nation detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lost Nation: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lost Nation: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lost Nation: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lost Nation: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lost Nation 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.