Best PlacesOread, Lawrence, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Oread, Lawrence, 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.
Oread, Lawrence ranks 3,697th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Oread, Lawrence
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.
Oread, Lawrence's strengths and weaknesses
Where Oread, Lawrence ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Short commute18.0 minutes each way, better than 89% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$796 a month, better than 89% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
Where Oread, Lawrence ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Household income$46,739 median, better than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Oread, Lawrence
A household needs to earn about $96,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Oread, Lawrence home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $46,739, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Oread, Lawrence's effective rate of 1.34%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Oread, Lawrence
Oread, Lawrence runs younger 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 Oread, Lawrence.
Who works in Oread, Lawrence, and how
Work in Oread, Lawrence centers on hospitality & food and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in Oread, Lawrence
Oread, Lawrence has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Oread, Lawrence and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Oread, Lawrence, month by month
Oread, Lawrence sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 29° | 20° |
| April | 70° | 55° | 43° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 68° |
| October | 72° | 57° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Oread, Lawrence
Kansas City International sits about 37 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.7 million passengers in 2025, with 104 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Oread, Lawrence
Schools across Oread, Lawrence average a C, better than 40% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Cordley ElemC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lawrence Liberty Memorial Central Mid SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Lawrence Free State HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Lawrence HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Oread, Lawrence school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Oread, Lawrence 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 Oread, Lawrence against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Oread, Lawrence
Is Oread, Lawrence a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Oread, Lawrence ranks 3,697th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low crime, short commutes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on civic engagement and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Oread, Lawrence expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $340,479. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $46,739 median income, cost of living beats 14% of neighborhoods.
Is Oread, Lawrence safe?
Yes, Oread, Lawrence is safer than 93% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $229 per resident a year.
Compare Oread, Lawrence with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Oread, Lawrence. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Oread, Lawrence 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.
Oread, Lawrence detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Oread, Lawrence: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Oread, Lawrence: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Oread, Lawrence: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Oread, Lawrence: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Oread, Lawrence 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.