Photo: Shannon Beat · CC BY 4.0Family incomes in Lawrence top those of 67% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 3.1 in Wichita. Leaving out college students, 9.0% of residents live below the poverty line, where Kansas as a whole has 10.2%. The two grades for Lawrence are B+ for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Lawrence apart
Most jobs in Lawrence go to people who live here
Of the 41,998 jobs based in Lawrence, 50% are held by Lawrence residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
The quickest commute around
Lawrence’s 20-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 23 to 33 minutes. Next door ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Lawrence’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On family income, poverty and job access, Lawrence is better than 74% of U.S. towns, #45 of 151 in Kansas. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 77% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on family income and the poverty rate.
24% of Lawrence’s residents are college students, and off-campus students count in the Census poverty figures. Where students are 15% or more of the people the Census checks for poverty (19% here), the grade uses the rate without them: 9.0%, against 17.4% for all residents. Unemployment (4.4%) is left out here: students looking for part-time work count as unemployed. Income is ranked as median family income ($106,282), since student households pull the household median down ($65,009).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for family income and poverty, Lawrence could be anywhere from B+ to A−.
Who commutes out of Lawrence, and who commutes in
On a workday 19,585 residents head out to work, 20,956 work right here, and 21,042 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.04 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
7% of working residents work in Topeka
Where Lawrence clocks in
7% 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.
Inside Lawrence’s 41,998 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lawrence, 2013 → 2023: 40,019 → 41,998. 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.
The trip to work from Lawrence: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lawrence workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 45,343 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Kansas: 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.
Miles to work from Lawrence
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.
In Lawrence, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lawrence is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns, #2 of 151 in Kansas. Both inputs place Lawrence near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 53,633 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 14% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 52% 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). 8.4% of Lawrence households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Lawrence’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Lawrence is 150th of 461 U.S. towns of 67,000 to 130,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | Bethesda MD | 69,397 | $192K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Shawnee KS | 69,848 | $110K | 5.3% | 3.3% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 148 | San Leandro CA | 85,353 | $101K | 8.3% | 5.3% | 12% | B+ |
| 149 | Simi Valley CA | 124,861 | $122K | 6.4% | 5.0% | 18% | B+ |
| 150 | Lawrence KS | 96,367 | $65K | 17.4% | 4.4% | 52% | B+ |
| 151 | Brick Township NJ | 77,402 | $106K | 5.1% | 6.2% | 16% | B+ |
| 152 | Hamilton Township NJ | 94,157 | $101K | 6.7% | 5.9% | 16% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 375 | Topeka KS | 125,795 | $57K | 15.7% | 4.9% | 66% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 461 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | 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 Kansas.
The towns around Lawrence
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lawrence workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawrence | – | B+ | A | 20 min | $65,009 |
| Wakarusa Township | under 1% | A | C | 23 min | $99,375 |
| Grant Township | under 1% | — | — | — | — |
| Kanwaka Township | under 1% | A+ | D | 33 min | $125,938 |
| Clinton Township | under 1% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Eudora Township | under 1% | A | C | 23 min | $118,632 |
Same-state neighbors only. Grant Township and Clinton Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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.
- Students. 24% of residents are college students; the poverty input leaves off-campus students out (above).
- 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?
$65,009 (±$4,505) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lawrence?
17.4% of residents live below the poverty line; leaving out college students, 9.0%. Kansas: 11.3%.
How long is the commute from Lawrence?
20 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lawrence work?
52% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Topeka (7%, 24 mi), Overland Park (6%, 31 mi), Kansas City (4%, 40 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lawrence walkable?
Lawrence is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.2 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lawrence without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% 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.