Photo: ONUnicorn · CC BY-SA 4.0For more than half of its working residents, Lawrence is a commute to Indianapolis
A typical one-way commute lasts 25 minutes (Indiana 24, U.S. 26). Jobs and income earn Lawrence B+; getting around on foot earns it B−. There are 15,316 jobs in Lawrence, against 21,701 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Lawrence
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Lawrence
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lawrence is better than 65% of U.S. towns, #197 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds Lawrence’s grade up (ahead of 90% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lawrence could be anywhere from B− to A−.
Out of Lawrence to work: where people go
Where Lawrence clocks in
55% of workers
7% of workers
5% 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 quiets down on a workday
On a workday 20,226 residents head out to work, 1,475 work right here, and 13,841 people come in from elsewhere.
About 44,000 people are in Lawrence on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.71 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The kinds of work in Lawrence
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lawrence, 2013 → 2023: 12,608 → 15,316. 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 25 minutes from Lawrence
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lawrence workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 22,057 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Indiana: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where in the region Lawrence works
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.
Few in Lawrence walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lawrence is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns, #265 of 593 in Indiana. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.3% across Indiana.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 25,831 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 16% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 6% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 56% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.1% of Lawrence households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lawrence’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Lawrence ranks: 483rd of 904 U.S. towns of 35,000 to 68,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| 3 | Oakton VA | 36,528 | $161K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Perry Township IN | 39,325 | $112K | 3.4% | 1.3% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Westfield IN | 66,258 | $123K | 3.6% | 2.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 80 | Washington Township IN | 62,740 | $100K | 4.2% | 2.5% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 481 | Keizer OR | 39,140 | $85K | 8.1% | 4.2% | 8% | B+ |
| 482 | San Gabriel CA | 38,186 | $90K | 10.6% | 5.9% | 8% | B+ |
| 483 | Lawrence IN | 50,420 | $74K | 8.7% | 4.5% | 7% | B+ |
| 484 | Lebanon TN | 53,412 | $73K | 13.1% | 2.4% | 25% | B+ |
| 485 | Kearns UT | 35,404 | $87K | 7.6% | 6.2% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 904 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Lawrence, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
55% of Lawrence works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lawrence workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawrence | – | B+ | B− | 25 min | $74,022 |
| Indianapolis | 55% | B− | A− | 25 min | $66,307 |
| Lawrence Township | under 1% | B− | B | 26 min | $72,081 |
| Buck Creek Township | under 1% | A | C− | 29 min | $111,224 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Indianapolis. 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?
$74,022 (±$3,986) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lawrence?
8.7%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lawrence?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lawrence work?
7% work in town.
Is Lawrence walkable?
Lawrence is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lawrence without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 6% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.