Lawrence County, Kentucky Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Lawrence County, KY Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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D
Health Well below averageLess healthy than 88% of counties in Kentucky
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D
Income Well below averageLess wealthy than 85% of counties in Kentucky
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F
Education Well below averageLess educated than 87% of counties in Kentucky
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Lawrence County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 16,077 | 4,533,530 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 38.3 | 112.2 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 0.17% | 0.33% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 43.9 | 37.5 | 37.3 |
| Households | 6,342 | 1,813,524 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Lawrence County declined by 1.5% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 16,077 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Lawrence County is Gen X, aged 45–60, at 21.3% of residents. That is 1.2 points above Kentucky as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 3,141 19.5% -1.8 pts
- Millennials 29–44 3,186 19.8% -1.1 pts
- Gen X 45–60 3,418 21.3% +1.2 pts
- Boomers 61–79 3,096 19.3% +1.4 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Kentucky, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 50.2% of the people living in Lawrence County and men 49.8%.
- Women 50.2% Kentucky 50.5%
- Men 49.8% Kentucky 49.5%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Lawrence County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Lawrence County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Lawrence County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $47,137 | $64,312 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 3.99% | 4.62% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 7.7% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Lawrence County is about 27% lower than in Kentucky.
Housing
| Metric | Lawrence County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $111,428 | $118,017 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $760 | $967 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 77.8% | 68.3% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Lawrence County is about 12.2 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $760 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Lawrence County spend about 55 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 228 hours, about 9.5 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Lawrence County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 27.3 | 20.8 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 54.7 | 41.6 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 228 | 173 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $7,061 | $5,369 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 5.5% | 10.2% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 2,544 | 6,995 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 403 | 832 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Kentucky:
Calloway County (13.9 min), Owsley County (15.0 min), Taylor County (15.3 min).
Slowest:
Owen County (37.7 min), Spencer County (33.3 min), Bracken County (33.2 min).
The average commute time in Lawrence County is 27 minutes, longer than the 21 minutes in Kentucky.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Lawrence County has a education index of F, which means it scores poorly in education.
| Metric | Lawrence County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 10.2% | 24.5% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.51 | 2.43 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Kentucky:
Fayette County (0.4), Oldham County (0.4), Campbell County (0.3).
Lowest:
Leslie County (0.1), Lee County (0.1), Elliott County (0.1).
Health
Lawrence County has a health index of D, which means it is barely healthy.
| Metric | Lawrence County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 73.3 | 75.0 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 27.9% | 23.2% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 32.0% | 26.0% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Kentucky:
Oldham County (0.8), Boone County (0.8), Scott County (0.8).
Lowest:
Clay County (0.7), Bell County (0.7), McCreary County (0.7).
Lawrence County, KY Compared With Nearby Counties
Lawrence County, KY is the smallest of the 4 counties compared here, 16,077 residents against a local median of 38,164. Where Lawrence County, KY breaks from the counties next to it is commute, sitting 49% above the local median of 18.3 min at 27.3 min. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
Median household income tells the same story from another angle: $47,137 against a local median of $59,127, 20% below it. Every measure here with a clear better direction points the same way, and it is the wrong way: Lawrence County, KY reads weaker than its neighbours on all of them. The counties themselves sit within 4.2 min of each other on commute, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Lawrence County, KY, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Lawrence County, KY has the 4th lowest commute of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawrence County, KY | 16,077 | $47,137 #3/4 | $111,428 #1/4 | 27.3 min #4/4 |
| Johnson County, KY | 22,334 | $44,929 | $87,311 | 18.3 min |
| Boyd County, KY | 47,914 | $61,181 | $110,938 | 17.6 min |
| Wayne County, WV | 38,164 | $59,127 | $98,860 | 21.8 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Lawrence County, Kentucky.
How big is Lawrence County, Kentucky by population?
About 16,077 people live in Lawrence County, Kentucky, in 6,342 households of 2.5 people on average. The median age is 43.9, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 7 years.
How densely populated is Lawrence County, Kentucky?
Averaged over its land area, Lawrence County, Kentucky has 38 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 44% of the U.S. average of 86.
Is Lawrence County, Kentucky an affordable place to live?
The median home costs 2.4 times the median household income ($111,428 against $47,137), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $760 a month takes about 19% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
Is it hard to find a job in Lawrence County, Kentucky?
Unemployment in Lawrence County, Kentucky is 7.7%, well above the U.S. rate of 5.2%, so job seekers may face more competition than elsewhere.
How educated are people in Lawrence County, Kentucky?
10.2% of adults in Lawrence County, Kentucky hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 10), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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