county

Lawrence County, MO

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

AI Overview

Lawrence County is a small rural Missouri county of 38,392 residents with an economy built around modest wages — median worker earnings of $35,791 and a per capita income of $27,516 — alongside a labor force participation rate of 59.7% and a bachelor's degree attainment rate of just 16.6%. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $159,800 and median gross rent of $785 per month, and a homeownership rate of 73.9% reflects a relatively stable residential base. Population grew only 0.7% over five years, unemployment stands at 5.0%, and a poverty rate of 16.5% points to ongoing income constraints across the county.

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

Population

38,392

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$61,215

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

38.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.7% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone34,058 (88.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,451 (3.8%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,335 (3.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,214 (3.1%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone225 (0.6%)
  • Asian Alone187 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish1,888
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic692
  3. 3.Other Indo-European190
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)178
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island82

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

25.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

3.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,943

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$25,169

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$27,516

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

16.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance4,077
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)3,101
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)2,223
  4. 4.Construction (Group)1,353
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,025

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations4,952
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations3,756
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations3,684
  4. 4.Service Occupations2,899
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,969

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.19×)587
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.92×)3,209
  3. 3.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.45×)560
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.33×)2,431
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.19×)1,169

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$159,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$785/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

73.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9991,627 (15.1%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,132 (10.5%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,001 (9.3%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999960 (8.9%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999854 (7.9%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999760 (7.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

16.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

85.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

59.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$35,791

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

25.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone12,894 (76.3%)
  • Carpooled1,795 (10.6%)
  • Worked At Home1,752 (10.4%)
  • Other255 (1.5%)
  • Walked125 (0.7%)
  • Bicycle42 (0.2%)

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.