county

Lawrence County, IL

Demographic and economic profile of Lawrence County, IL, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Lawrence County is a small rural Illinois county of 15,137 residents with a labor force participation rate of just 51.4% and an unemployment rate of 7.9%, reflecting a constrained and aging workforce with a median age of 40.7 years. Only 14.6% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher, pointing to a largely trade- and labor-oriented workforce, while median worker earnings of $37,324 and a median home value of $95,500 indicate a low-cost operating environment. The county has shed 6.5% of its population over the past five years, and a poverty rate of 14.7% alongside a per capita income of $30,702 underscore ongoing economic pressure in the region.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

15,137

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$55,324

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-6.5% since 2018

Lawrence County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone12,621 (84.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,029 (6.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone932 (6.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race197 (1.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone176 (1.2%)
  • Asian Alone69 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish376
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic49
  3. 3.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)43
  4. 4.Other Indo-European20
  5. 5.Vietnamese14

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

18.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

63.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

874

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$34,880

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$30,702

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

14.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,307
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)891
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)575
  4. 4.Construction (Group)512
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities509

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,745
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,380
  3. 3.Service Occupations1,091
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations866
  5. 5.Sales & Office Occupations854

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.64×)347
  2. 2.Information (LQ 2.00×)224
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.51×)896
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.43×)500
  5. 5.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.24×)171

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$95,500

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$810/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

71.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999417 (10.6%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999410 (10.4%)
  • $60,000 to $69,999367 (9.3%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999260 (6.6%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999252 (6.4%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999247 (6.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

14.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

85.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

51.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$37,324

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

20.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,466 (76.1%)
  • Carpooled613 (10.4%)
  • Worked At Home496 (8.4%)
  • Walked239 (4.1%)
  • Other36 (0.6%)
  • Public Transit19 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.