Lawrence has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Home is the office for 0% of workers, against 16% across Illinois. There are 20 jobs in Lawrence; 99 of its residents have a job. Commuters spend 38 minutes getting to work on average, where Illinois has 28 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Lawrence on a workday afternoon
On a workday 98 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 19 people come in from elsewhere.
About 280 people are in Lawrence on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
13% of working residents work in Harvard
Where Lawrence clocks in
13% of workers
11% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Lawrence works in goods: 60% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lawrence, 2013 → 2023: 9 → 20. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lawrence’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 38 minutes from Lawrence
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lawrence workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 224 commuters (the 0% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far it is to work from Lawrence
About 26% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The towns next door employ 13% of Lawrence
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Harvard. Darker towns draw more of Lawrence’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Lawrence: questions
What is the median household income in Lawrence?
$46,862 (±$33,385) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lawrence?
9.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lawrence?
38 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lawrence work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Harvard (13%, 1 mi), Chicago (11%, 64 mi), Woodstock (4%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Lawrence without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lawrence, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lawrence
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.