Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetIN-LAWRENCE-IN · Lawrence, IN 49,284 pop · income 54th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Lawrence
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Lawrence on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
West Lafayette · lowest
33,497
West Lafayette · lowest
33,497 median HH income
25.6% of the leader · rank #1
Norris · near
73,448
Norris · near
73,448 median HH income
56.2% of the leader · rank #2
Lawrence · this city
73,455
Lawrence · this city
73,455 median HH income
56.2% of the leader · rank #3
Cashiers · near
73,455
Cashiers · near
73,455 median HH income
56.2% of the leader · rank #4
Easton · near
73,460
Easton · near
73,460 median HH income
56.2% of the leader · rank #5
Deerfield · near
73,462
Deerfield · near
73,462 median HH income
56.2% of the leader · rank #6
Coral Gables · highest
130,803
Coral Gables · highest
130,803 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Lawrence on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 49,284.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Lawrence - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Lawrence lands in the 54th percentile for household income and the 32nd percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
54th
percentile, household income
48th
percentile, home value
27th
percentile, median rent
32nd
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Lawrence, IN
Lawrence is a small city in Indiana, home to 49,284 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Lawrence brings in $73,455 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 5.4%. Home values in Lawrence run a median of $220,400, and the median resident age is 34.4 years. 35.4% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 70.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 83 residential building permits were authorized in Lawrence (Stable), up 2% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 2020.3 in FBI UCR data, near the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Indiana run below the national norm: the state registers 93.3 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,096 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Indiana run around $235, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Commute times here average 21.6 minutes, with 72.3% driving alone and 13.5% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 45.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Lawrence's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to reported crime to work and mobility to housing and income to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Lawrence, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Lawrence?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Indiana, the closest population matches are Jeffersonville (50,176 residents, $70,157 income); Mishawaka (50,907 residents, $53,120 income); Columbus (51,104 residents, $76,856 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Azusa, CA (49,318 residents); Coral Gables, FL (49,243 residents); Everett, MA (49,236 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Lawrence?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2020.3 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 11% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
What does the journey to work look like in Lawrence?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 72.3%. The reported mean trip to work is 21.6 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
How far does income reach against housing in Lawrence?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.4%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Population change
Is Lawrence growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +1,083 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 83 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
2020 estimate
49,337
2025 estimate
50,420
Period change
+2.2%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Above median income · poverty 5.4% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
93.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Indiana average
C
City profile score · Lawrence, IN
57/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living B
93.3 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share B-
35.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate C+
5.4%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income C-
$73,455
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
293 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Lawrence profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 72/100 (B) · 93.3 index
Bachelor's+ share: 67/100 (B-) · 35.4%
Poverty rate: 63/100 (C+) · 5.4%
Household income: 53/100 (C-) · $73,455
Violent crime: 34/100 (F) · 293 /100k
Where Lawrence sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Lawrence's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Lawrence highlighted among 11 peers.Read the chart values
Lawrence, IN (this city): home $220,400, crime 2,020/100k
Azusa, CA : home $607,400, crime 1,755/100k
Everett, MA : home $605,200, crime 1,662/100k
Barnstable, MA : home $559,200, crime 1,196/100k
Bedford, TX : home $322,300, crime 1,691/100k
Jeffersonville, IN : home $208,500, crime 1,988/100k
Mishawaka, IN : home $140,600, crime 2,806/100k
Columbus, IN : home $231,000, crime 96/100k
Westfield, IN : home $391,900, crime 686/100k
Elkhart, IN : home $126,900, crime 3,595/100k
West Lafayette, IN : home $318,100, crime 1,298/100k
How does Lawrence compare to other US cities?
Here's how Lawrence stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income54% higher than other cities
Home value48% pricier than other cities
Median rent27% pricier than other cities
Safety32% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Indiana alone, Lawrence ranks #83 of 110 Indiana cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Lawrence against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Indiana only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Indiana-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Lawrence near the bottom of Indiana's cities
Among the 850 Indiana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Lawrence ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Lawrence only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#227 of 766
70th percentile in Indiana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 850
0th percentile in Indiana
Median Home Value
#127 of 771
84th percentile in Indiana
Poverty Rate
#479 of 849
43rd percentile in Indiana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#100 of 850
88th percentile in Indiana
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Indiana only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
54th percentile nationally for median household income · 32nd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Lawrence's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Lawrence's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Lawrence's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$220,400Among the most affordablemore affordable than 52% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Lawrence's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#6,694 of 15,516
More affordable than 57% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#901 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.0×, Lawrence sits in the moderate band:
national rank #6,694 of 15,516 and #901 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$73,455Lawrence, IN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Lawrence, IN median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Lawrence, IN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)35.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)70.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
49,284
Median Income
$73,455
Median Home Value
$220,400
Median Age
34.4
Poverty Rate
5.4%
Labor force participation
70.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
35.4%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2020.3
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
292.7
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1727.6
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Lawrence's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
49,337 residents
2021
49,418 residents
2022
49,505 residents
2023
49,834 residents
2024
50,257 residents
2025
50,420 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Stable
Total Permits (2024)
83
housing units authorized
Single-Family
83
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
81
81
0
$18.4M
2020
232
101
131
$56.1M
2021
49
49
0
$9.6M
2022
83
83
0
$19.4M
2023
59
59
0
$18.6M
2024
83
83
0
$26.2M
Permit volume increased 2% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
21.6 minutes
Drive Alone
72.3%
Carpool
12.8%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.4%
Work from Home
13.5%
Other
1.0%
Based on 26,140 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Indiana statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $235
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Indiana at $235 (electricity about $110 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Indiana statewide averages, not a meter reading for Lawrence. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Indiana's BEA cost-of-living index is 93.3 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Lawrence is $1,096/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Indiana statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 45.5 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Indiana statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Lawrence sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Lawrence compares to similar-size Indiana cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.