Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 21/100
F
Median home value$415,200
Boston $646,300
Median rent$1,662/mo
Boston $2,023/mo
Cost-burdened households54%
Boston 36%
Lawrence
Essex County88,736 residentsLawrence
45
D
Suburbgrade score
59th of 60 Boston suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
45
Boston median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Lawrence yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 45 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Lawrence is like to live in, by category
Bars show Lawrence against Boston. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 32/100
F
Within-state proficiency3rd pct
Boston median 47th pct
Student–teacher ratio11.5
Boston median 11.8
Graduation rate71%
Boston median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 78/100
B+
Housing cost index80
Boston 100
Eff. tax rate0.80%
Boston 1.01%
Local sales tax6.25%
Boston median 6.25%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 61/100
C
Mean commute23.0 min
Boston 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes69%
Boston 52%
Transit stops / sq mi2.7
Boston median 8.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 68/100
B−
Restaurants & cafés45
Boston median 51 · within 2 miles
Groceries4
Boston median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks97
Boston median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 22/100
F
Median household income$60,433
Boston $115,863
Unemployment8.5%
Boston 4.9%
Professional occupations22%
Boston 54%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Lawrence yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Lawrence on housing & affordability
Lawrence's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Lexington18 mi from LawrenceB+ 75 B Winchester17 mi from LawrenceB 73 B Lynnfield13 mi from LawrenceB− 67 C+ Belmont21 mi from LawrenceB− 73 B Reading12 mi from LawrenceC+ 69 B− Wilmington9 mi from LawrenceC+ 64 C+ Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Lawrence
Is Lawrence, MA a good place to live?
Lawrence scores 45 out of 100, 59th of 60 Boston suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Lawrence expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B+. The median home is $415,200, 36% below the Boston median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.80%. $1,662/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Lawrence?
Schools grade F. The districts serving Lawrence sit at the 3rd pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 71% graduation rate and a 11.5 student–teacher ratio. Lawrence is served by Lawrence. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Lawrence?
The mean commute is 23.0 min, with 69% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 6.8% working from home. Transit density is 2.7 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Lawrence?
Within two miles there are 4 groceries, 45 restaurants and cafés and 97 parks, which grades B− on amenities.
Are the homes in Lawrence old or new?
The median home in Lawrence was built in 1950 — older than the Boston median of 1964. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 27% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.