Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Lawrence are lower than in 98% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Lawrence are D for jobs and income and C for walkability. 28.9% of residents live below the poverty line, against 13.2% across Michigan. 4% of workers have no commute at all (Michigan 14%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Lawrence apart
Lawrence is where the jobs are
Lawrence has 1,000 jobs, 2.7 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 1,600 people are in town, 62% more than the 1,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Few Lawrence workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; 2021 is the newest year Michigan has published; with 374 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Lawrence
On income, poverty and job access, Lawrence is better than 10% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Lawrence’s grade up (ahead of 50% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($36,058, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (11.1%) is left out: Lawrence’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is two years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Lawrence could be anywhere from D to C−.
Who works in Lawrence, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 346 residents head out to work, 28 work right here, and 972 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Lawrence on a workday afternoon, 62% more than live here.
2.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
Each way, about 26 minutes from Lawrence
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lawrence workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 354 commuters (the 4% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 86% 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 Lawrence’s workforce comes from
Where Lawrence clocks in
9% of workers
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 1,000 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lawrence, 2011 → 2021: 1,224 → 1,000. 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 2021.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lawrence’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Lawrence works
About 23% 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 2021.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Lawrence is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lawrence is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 5.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 370 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 14.3% of Lawrence households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lawrence’s commuters take a bus or train.
Lawrence next to U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400: 2,570th of 3,133 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 172 | Petersburg MI | 1,152 | $83K | 1.8% | 1.7% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 216 | Freedom Township MI | 1,298 | $113K | 6.7% | 2.5% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,568 | Loup City NE | 1,026 | $53K | 11.8% | 7.7% | 18% | D |
| 2,569 | Kraemer LA | 1,065 | $52K | 20.5% | 11.9% | 0% | D |
| 2,570 | Lawrence MI | 1,005 | $36K | 28.9% | 11.1% | 7% | D |
| 2,571 | Sweet Springs MO | 1,323 | $47K | 14.9% | 5.5% | 14% | D |
| 2,572 | Yoncalla OR | 1,029 | $55K | 13.4% | 14.6% | 5% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Michigan.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2021, 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?
$36,058 (±$18,600) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lawrence?
28.9%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lawrence?
26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lawrence work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lawrence Township (9%, 1 mi), Paw Paw Township (7%, 6 mi), Kalamazoo (4%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Lawrence walkable?
Lawrence is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lawrence without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 14% 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), 2021, 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.