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%

Lerna$1,270/mo

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

Bulpitt$500/mo

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

LernaBulpitt

Snow a year15″14″

January low20°F —

July high86°F —

Growing season (days)199d —

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

Outdoors & history

LernaBulpitt

Archive photos1 —

Famous people born here1 —

Community

LernaBulpitt

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.

LernaIL BulpittIL

Lerna ↔ Bulpitt62 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

LernaBulpitt

People

Population 226Highest 185Lowest

Median age 31.4±17Highest 19% below IL 31.3±10.2Lowest 20% 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 22.1%±6.2Highest IL: 21.8% 15.7%±11.8Lowest 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+ 24.8%±8.6Highest IL: 17% 13.5%±16.9Lowest 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+ 11.3%Highest IL: 37.8% 4.3%Lowest IL: 37.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.4%±6.5Lowest IL: 6.3% 13%±13.3Highest 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 $67,679±$29kLowest 19% below IL $75,000±$17kHighest 10% 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 $94,400±$29kHighest 64% below IL $78,300±$14kLowest 70% 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 $850±$248Highest 33% below IL $825±$238Lowest 35% 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 $1,339Highest 75% below IL $1,114Lowest 79% below IL

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 15%±96.2Lowest IL: 47.9% 50%±98.7Highest 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 14.6%Highest IL: 11.8% 2.7%Lowest IL: 11.8%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 6.5%±5.3Lowest IL: 15.9% 14.5%±10.9Highest 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 18.8 miLowest 19.8 miHighest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in BulpittFew work in Lerna

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0%Lowest 5.4%Highest

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 215Lowest 220Highest

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.

Bulpitt neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bulpitt’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Lerna and Bulpitt

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

Towns like Lerna

+ Compare

Kinderhook249 people · $71K homes

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Vermilion219 people · $76K homes

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Bone Gap220 people · $80K homes

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Broughton206 people

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.

Lerna vs Bulpitt

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 Lerna and Bulpitt

Towns like Lerna

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