County profile

Lawrence County

Missouri · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
38,593
Median household income
$61,215
People below poverty
14.5%
Median home value
$175,100

Income

The median income of households in Lawrence County, Missouri was $61,215. An estimated 4.4% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 3.7% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 4.4
$10,000 to $14,999 5.5
$15,000 to $24,999 9.4
$25,000 to $34,999 8.8
$35,000 to $49,999 13.8
$50,000 to $74,999 17.8
$75,000 to $99,999 12.7
$100,000 to $149,999 18.2
$150,000 to $199,999 5.7
$200,000 or more 3.7

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 51491
Female 43303

An estimated 73.9% of households received earnings. An estimated 37.9% of households received Social Security and an estimated 23.7 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $22,412. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 73.9
Social Security 37.9
Retirement income 23.7
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 5.5
Cash public assistance income 2.8

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 14.5 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 21.1% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 8.9% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 13.4% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 14.5
Children under 18 years below poverty 21.1
People 65 years old and over below poverty 8.9
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 13.4

In 2020-2024, 12.2 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 37.5% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 46.2% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 28% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024, 86% had health insurance coverage and 14% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 57.8% and public coverage was 39.2%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 9.8%.


In 2020-2024, Lawrence County, Missouri had a total population of 38,593 - 19,181 (49.7%) females and 19,412 (50.3%) males. The median age was 38.8 years. An estimated 25.4% of the population was under 18 years, 29.5% was 19 to 44 years, 24.5% was 45 to 64 years, and 18.1 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 1259 1197
5 to 9 1454 1310
10 to 14 1486 1323
15 to 19 1503 1237
20 to 24 1019 1074
25 to 29 1172 1105
30 to 34 1115 1189
35 to 39 1324 895
40 to 44 1082 1410
45 to 49 1103 1045
50 to 54 1147 1154
55 to 59 1223 1156
60 to 64 1259 1356
65 to 69 1057 1166
70 to 74 852 901
75 to 79 576 635
80 to 84 493 536
85 and over 288 492

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 88.2% were White; 0.3% were Black or African American; 14.1% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 0.5% were Asian; 0.2% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 7.2% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 8.5% of the people in Lawrence County, Missouri were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 86.2% of the people in Lawrence County, Missouri were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 14,602 households in Lawrence County, Missouri. The average household size was 2.6 people.

Married-couple households made up 51.4% of the households in Lawrence County, Missouri while cohabiting couple households made up 7.4% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 24.3% of all households, while 17% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 12.3% of households were male householders living alone, and 14.6% were female householders living alone, for a total of 26.9% of all households.

In Lawrence County, Missouri, 31.3% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 34.3% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 51.4
Cohabiting Couples 7.4
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
17
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
24.3

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 51.7% of males and 52.1% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 28.5 20.9
Now married, except separated 51.7 52.1
Separated 3.5 1.3
Widowed 4.1 10.3
Divorced 12.3 15.4

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Lawrence County, Missouri, 709 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 43.6% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 96.5% of the people living in Lawrence County, Missouri were U.S. natives. 64.7% of the Lawrence County, Missouri population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 3.5% of Lawrence County, Missouri residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 50% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 85.5 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Lawrence County, Missouri come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Lawrence County, Missouri.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 66.6
Asia 12.8
Europe 19.1
Africa 0.5
Northern America 0.1
Oceania 0.8

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024, 8.3 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 4.8% of people at least five years old; 2.4% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 4.8
Other Indo-European languages 2.5
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 1
Other languages 0

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 85.6 % of the people at least one year old living in Lawrence County, Missouri were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 85.6
Different house, same county 5.8
Different county, same state 7.3
Different state 1.3
Abroad 0

Education

In 2020-2024, 87.3 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 16.9% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 12.7% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Lawrence County, Missouri was 8,852 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 637 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 6,869. College or graduate school enrollment was 1,346.

Educational Attainment of People in Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 12.7
High school diploma or equivalency 38.3
Some college, no degree 24.2
Associate's degree 7.9
Bachelor's degree 11.2
Graduate or professional degree 5.7

Disability

In Lawrence County, Missouri, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 15.5 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 6.1% of people under 18 years old, to 13.7% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 35% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Lawrence County, Missouri, 57.4 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 39.7% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 77.3% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 13.8% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 8.7 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 13,338 77.3
Federal, state, or local government workers 2,381 13.8
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 1,499 8.7

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Lawrence County, Missouri worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 4.8
Construction 7.8
Manufacturing 18
Wholesale trade 3.4
Retail trade 12.9
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 5.9
Information 0.9
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 5.5
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 5.7
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 23.6
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 5.9
Other Services, except public administration 3.3
Public administration 2.3

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 4,952 28.7
Service occupations 2,899 16.8
Sales and office occupations 3,756 21.8
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 1,969 11.4
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 3,684 21.3

Commuting to Work

An estimated 76.3% of Lawrence County, Missouri workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 10.6% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 25 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 76.3
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 10.6
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.1
Walked 0.7
Other means 2
Worked from home 10.4

In 2020-2024, Lawrence County, Missouri had a total of 16,303 housing units. Of these housing units, 80.1% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 9.7% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 9.7% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 80.1
Apartments in multi-unit structures 9.7
Mobile homes 9.7
Boat, RV, van, etc 0.6

8.2% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 13.8% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Lawrence County, Missouri was 5.7 rooms, and of these housing units 66.6% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Lawrence County, Missouri had 14,602 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 1,701 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 73.9% while renters occupied 26.1%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.69 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.34.

3.5% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 9.4% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 6.3% and another 28.8% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Lawrence County, Missouri:

House Heating Fuel Used in Lawrence County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 54.9
Electricity 37.7
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0
All other fuels 7
No fuel used 0.5

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Lawrence County, Missouri was $175,100.

Of the owner-occupied households, 55.5 % had a mortgage. 44.5% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,216 and for owners without a mortgage it was $438.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Lawrence County, Missouri was $800. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.