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Compare towns

Lerna vs Bone Gap

69 miles apart. The biggest differences: street grid (3.8× in Lerna) and rent (+77% in Lerna).

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Lerna, ILHomes around $198KIllinois · 226 people
B ×
Bone Gap, ILA small town of 220Illinois · 220 people
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Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

LernaHomes around $198K
Housing$198K typical home33% below the IL typical home All about Lerna →
Bone GapA small town of 220
Quiet strengthsBone Gap doesn’t stand out on the data we haveNeighbors can tell you what the numbers miss.
All about Bone Gap →
The biggest differences

Where they differ most

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

Street grid3.8×
Lerna has the more walkable street grid
Lerna 215Bone Gap 56.6
Rent+77%
Rent runs higher in Lerna
Lerna $850Bone Gap $480
Average commute14 min
Lerna has the shorter commute
Bone Gap 36 minLerna 21 min
Property tax bill+18%
Tax bills are bigger in Lerna
Lerna $1,339Bone Gap $1,133
★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $760 more a month in Lerna

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.

Lerna$1,270/mo
Typical home $198K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.42% · or rent about $850/mo · Housing →
Bone Gap$510/mo
Typical home $80K (Census) · tax rate 1.42% · or rent about $480/mo · Housing →

The difference: $760 a month, about $9,100 a year, between Lerna and Bone Gap.

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
LernaBone Gap
Snow a year15″12″
January low20°F24°F
July high86°F89°F
Growing season (days)199d201d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)74th68th
Outdoors & history
LernaBone Gap
Archive photos13
Famous people born here11
Community
LernaBone Gap
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

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

69 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

LernaILBone GapIL
Lerna ↔ Bone Gap69 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.

LernaBone Gap
People
Population 226Highest 220Lowest
Median age 31.4±17Highest 19% below IL 30.6±12.6Lowest 22% below IL
Lerna and Bone Gap are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18 22.1%±6.2Lowest IL: 21.8% 25.5%±8.6Highest IL: 21.8%
Bone Gap and Lerna are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 24.8%±8.6Highest IL: 17% 16.4%±11.6Lowest IL: 17%
Lerna and Bone Gap are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 11.3%Highest IL: 37.8% 9.6%Lowest IL: 37.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.4%±6.5Highest IL: 6.3% 2.7%±2.9Lowest IL: 6.3%
Lerna and Bone Gap are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $67,679±$29kHighest 19% below IL $51,042±$29kLowest 39% below IL
Lerna and Bone Gap are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $94,400±$29kHighest 64% below IL $80,000±$29kLowest 70% below IL
Lerna and Bone Gap are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly $850±$248Highest 33% below IL $480±$61Lowest 62% below IL
Property taxmedian, yearly $1,339Highest 75% below IL $1,133Lowest 79% below IL
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 15%±96.2Lowest IL: 47.9% 62.5%±100Highest IL: 47.9%
Bone Gap and Lerna are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 14.6%Lowest IL: 11.8% 19.1%Highest IL: 11.8%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 77%Lowest IL: 67.1% 83.5%Highest IL: 67.1%
Typical home builtmedian year 1957Lowest 14 yrs older than IL 1965Highest 6 yrs older than IL
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 21 minLowest 23% below IL 36 minHighest 29% above IL
Work from home 6.5%±5.3Highest IL: 15.9% 2.8%±4Lowest IL: 15.9%
Lerna and Bone Gap 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 18.8 miLowest 19.3 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.04Highest 0.00Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town Mattoon (30%)Albion (22%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Bone GapFew work in Lerna
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 0% 0%
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 215Highest 56.6Lowest
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.

Lerna neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Lerna’s Town Square.

Bone Gap neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bone Gap’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Lerna and Bone Gap

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Towns like Lerna

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Broughton206 people
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Shumway260 people · $103K 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.

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