Best PlacesLucas County, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Lucas County, 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.
Lucas County ranks 1,169th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Lucas County
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.
Lucas County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lucas County ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 89% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 83% of counties
Where Lucas County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 13% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 19% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 19% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 32% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Lucas County
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lucas County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,451, 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 Lucas County's effective rate of 1.20%, 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 Lucas County
Lucas County'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 Lucas County.
Who works in Lucas County, and how
Work in Lucas County centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Lucas County
Lucas County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Lucas County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Lucas County growing, and who is moving in?
Lucas County has grown about 1% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Randolph County, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Lucas County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Lucas County, month by month
Lucas County sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 24° | 17° |
| April | 63° | 51° | 41° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 65° | 53° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Lucas County
The nearest airport, Des Moines International, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 136 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lucas County
Schools across Lucas County average an A−, better than 89% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Wayne Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Southeast Warren PrimaryA− · 60% proficient
- Mormon Trail Elementary SchoolB · 49% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chariton Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- Southeast Warren IntermediateA · 63% proficient
- Clarke Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Wayne Community Jr-sr High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Southeast Warren Jr-sr High SchoolA · 69% proficient
- Chariton High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lucas County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lucas County 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 Lucas County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Lucas County
Is Lucas County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lucas County ranks 1,169th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low crime, state finances, and good schools, and lowest on the weather and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lucas County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $125,356. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $63,451 median income, cost of living beats 34% of counties.
Is Lucas County safe?
Yes, Lucas County is safer than 96% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $199 per resident a year.
Compare Lucas County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lucas County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lucas County 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.
Lucas County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lucas County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lucas County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lucas County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lucas County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lucas County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.