Best PlacesLucas, Iowa City, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lucas, Iowa City, 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.
Lucas, Iowa City ranks 1,456th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Lucas, Iowa City
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, Iowa City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lucas, Iowa City ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$773 a month, better than 92% of neighborhoods
Where Lucas, Iowa City ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Lucas, Iowa City
A household needs to earn about $77,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lucas, Iowa City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $73,363; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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, Iowa City's effective rate of 1.73%, 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 7 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, Iowa City
Lucas, Iowa City 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 Lucas, Iowa City.
Who works in Lucas, Iowa City, and how
Work in Lucas, Iowa City centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Lucas, Iowa City
Lucas, Iowa City has more parkland per resident than 86% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Lucas, Iowa City and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Lucas, Iowa City, month by month
Lucas, Iowa City sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 23° | 16° |
| April | 63° | 51° | 40° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Lucas, Iowa City
The nearest airport, The Eastern Iowa, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 186 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lucas, Iowa City
Schools across Lucas, Iowa City average an A−, better than 89% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Longfellow Elementary SchoolA− · 61% proficient
- Helen Lemme Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Herbert Hoover Elementary SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
Top middle schools
- Southeast Junior High SchoolA · 64% proficient
Top high schools
- Iowa City High SchoolA− · 66% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lucas, Iowa City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lucas, Iowa City 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, Iowa City against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Lucas, Iowa City
Is Lucas, Iowa City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lucas, Iowa City ranks 1,456th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state finances, health care access, and low crime, and lowest on internet speeds 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 Lucas, Iowa City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $262,086. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $73,363 median income, cost of living beats 55% of neighborhoods.
Is Lucas, Iowa City safe?
Yes, Lucas, Iowa City is safer than 95% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $189 per resident a year.
Compare Lucas, Iowa City with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lucas, Iowa City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lucas, Iowa City 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, Iowa City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lucas, Iowa City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lucas, Iowa City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lucas, Iowa City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lucas, Iowa City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lucas, Iowa City 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.