A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Bulpitt$500/mo

Typical home $78K (Census) · tax rate 1.42% · or rent about $825/mo · Housing →

Lerna$1,270/mo

Typical home $198K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.42% · or rent about $850/mo · Housing →

The difference: $770 a month, about $9,200 a year, between Lerna and Bulpitt.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

BulpittLerna

Snow a year14″15″

January low—20°F

July high—86°F

Growing season (days)—199d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)40th 74th

Outdoors & history

BulpittLerna

Archive photos—1

Famous people born here—1

Community

BulpittLerna

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

62 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

BulpittIL LernaIL

Bulpitt ↔ Lerna62 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Illinois average

BulpittLerna

People

Population 185Lowest 226Highest

Median age 31.3±10.2Lowest 20% below IL 31.4±17Highest 19% below IL

Lerna and Bulpitt are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 15.7%±11.8Lowest IL: 21.8% 22.1%±6.2Highest IL: 21.8%

Lerna and Bulpitt are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 13.5%±16.9Lowest IL: 17% 24.8%±8.6Highest IL: 17%

Lerna and Bulpitt are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 4.3%Lowest IL: 37.8% 11.3%Highest IL: 37.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 13%±13.3Highest IL: 6.3% 4.4%±6.5Lowest IL: 6.3%

Bulpitt and Lerna are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $75,000±$17kHighest 10% below IL $67,679±$29kLowest 19% below IL

Bulpitt and Lerna are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $78,300±$14kLowest 70% below IL $94,400±$29kHighest 64% below IL

Lerna and Bulpitt are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $825±$238Lowest 35% below IL $850±$248Highest 33% below IL

Lerna and Bulpitt are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,114Lowest 79% below IL $1,339Highest 75% below IL

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 50%±98.7Highest IL: 47.9% 15%±96.2Lowest IL: 47.9%

Bulpitt and Lerna are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 2.7%Lowest IL: 11.8% 14.6%Highest IL: 11.8%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 71.4%Lowest IL: 67.1% 77%Highest IL: 67.1%

Typical home builtmedian year 1938Lowest 33 yrs older than IL 1957Highest 14 yrs older than IL

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 28 minHighest about the IL average 21 minLowest 23% below IL

Work from home 14.5%±10.9Highest IL: 15.9% 6.5%±5.3Lowest IL: 15.9%

Bulpitt and Lerna are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 0% 0%

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 19.8 miHighest 18.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.09Highest 0.04Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Springfield (24%)Mattoon (30%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in LernaFew work in Bulpitt

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 5.4%Highest 0%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0 0

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 220Highest 215Lowest

Illinois average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Bulpitt neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bulpitt’s Town Square.

Lerna neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Lerna’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Bulpitt and Lerna

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Bulpitt

+ Compare

Kincaid1,278 people · $88K homes

Towns like Bulpitt

+ Compare

Shumway260 people · $103K homes

+ Compare

Viola Township312 people

+ Compare

Allenville126 people · $95K homes

+ Compare

Kinderhook249 people · $71K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Illinois towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Bulpitt vs Lerna

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $770 more a month in Lerna

What daily life feels like in each

62 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Bulpitt and Lerna

Bordering Bulpitt

Towns like Bulpitt

Post to Bulpitt

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