66044 — Lawrence, Kansas

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 66044. Its median home value runs 20% below Lawrence as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

59out of 100
Area Score
Top 46% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity2,243rd of 3,116 ZIP areas measured44
SchoolsTop 35% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured62
Growth1,829th of 3,124 ZIP areas measured46
Housing affordabilityTop 50% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured68
Climate2,429th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured62
Physical resilienceTop 29% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured74
Access2,038th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured87
Economic stability1,883rd of 3,127 ZIP areas measured48
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable ZIP areas measured: unemployment is 4.3% and the Opportunity signal places 66044 in the bottom 28%. The unemployment rate is published for Lawrence, KS, which contains 66044, rather than for 66044 alone.

In the public schools here, 37% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.9 students for every teacher.

189 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 13% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Lawrence, KS, which contains 66044, rather than for 66044 alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
28,820
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$55,955
Bottom 23% nationally
Density
449/sq mi
64.2 sq mi of land
Median age
24.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Lawrence
Kansas
Metro area
Nearest major airport
FOE
25 mi · Topeka Rgnl
Median home value
$235,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Lawrence, KS, which contains 66044, is 4.3%, lower than in 54% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Lawrence, KS, which contains 66044, fell 2.5% over the past year, to 54,161 employed residents.

54% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 90% of measured US ZIP areas.

Median household income of $55,955 is lower than in 77% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$5,9662024 ACS 5-Year$55,955Bottom 23%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,6172024 ACS 5-Year$32,823Bottom 37%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year14.4%Bottom 32%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year20.3 minTop 14%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year54.5%Top 10%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year63.7%18th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentLawrence, KS’s figureJuly 202654,161Top 46%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Lawrence, KS’s figureJuly 2026−0.3%Bottom 48%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Lawrence, KS’s figureJuly 2026−2.5%Bottom 12%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceLawrence, KS’s figureJuly 202656,57854th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year83.2%Top 28%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageLawrence, KS Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$60,950Bottom 27%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageLawrence, KS Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$47,390Bottom 27%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year3.1%90th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Lawrence, KS’s figureJuly 20260.0%Bottom 44%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateLawrence, KS’s figureJuly 20264.3%Top 46%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year13.9%68th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202456k48k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $55,955 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Lawrence, KS

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,880$28,320
Retail Salespersons1,430$31,320
Cashiers1,310$29,270
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive1,230$42,630
Waiters and Waitresses1,190$37,230
Customer Service Representatives1,090$37,800

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Lawrence, KS, the city containing this ZIP code.

37% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 45% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.9 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
5
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.9
across all schools here
Math proficiency
36.6%
Top 43% in Kansas
Reading proficiency
45.0%
Top 39% in Kansas
All 5 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
New York ElemLawrence41520.837%42%
Hillcrest ElemLawrence39311.942%52%
Lawrence Liberty Memorial Central Mid SchoolLawrence38614.324%35%
Cordley ElemLawrence34812.037%47%
Woodlawn ElemLawrence24012.647%52%

58.4% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Kansas’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 9% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 90.9, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Lawrence, KS Metro Area is up 42% over five years, and up 4.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,857 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.22% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,130, some 9% above the $1,038 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,130 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $45,200 a year, about 81% of the median household income here of $55,955.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,038 a month.

A median home at $235,000 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $100,550, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
90.9

Prices here run about 9% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Lawrence, KS Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
32.4%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,130
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,038
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$235,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 66044’s median household income of $55,955, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Lawrence, KS Metro Area’s figure202390.9Top 14%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Lawrence, KS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.8%78th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Lawrence, KS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+41.6%44th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Lawrence, KS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+88.9%41st percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 35%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year38.6%5th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6042024 ACS 5-Year12,69688th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$960Top 24%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,570Top 28%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,130Top 20%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$692024 ACS 5-Year$1,038Bottom 48%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,2692024 ACS 5-Year$235,00054th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1472024 ACS 5-Year$2,85768th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$14,4312024 ACS 5-Year$100,550Top 30%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year1.22%70th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year32.4%Bottom 28%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±392024 ACS 5-Year3054th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%35th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.3%58th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3242024 ACS 5-Year1,07889th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

46/ 100
Ranks 1,829 of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

At 2.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Lawrence, KS, which contains 66044, rather than for 66044 alone.

Units permitted
189
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.0
Bottom 37% nationally
Year over year
+13%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
26.5%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Lawrence, KS, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 18°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 35.6 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LAWRENCE MUNI AP, 1.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals35.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals18°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals50°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

74 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 43% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 71% of measured US ZIP areas.

TornadoModerate
HailModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: ice storm, winter weather, strong wind, lightning, landslide, wildfire, cold wave, inland flooding, drought, earthquake, hurricane, coastal flooding, tsunami, avalanche, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
2.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
10.8
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
19.9
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 66044 (Douglas County) rather than 66044 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Lawrence carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Topeka Rgnl at 25 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year93.6%Top 28%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle25 miBottom 36%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 21%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year2.7%Top 17%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Topeka RgnlFOE25 mi12,803 ft
Kansas City IntlMCI32 mi10,801 ft
Rosecrans MemlSTJ54 mi8,061 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
59
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

66044 vs Lawrence

How this ZIP area compares with Lawrence as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

66044
Lawrence
Median household income: Lawrence is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$55,955
vs
$65,009
Per capita income: Lawrence is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$32,823
vs
$39,194
Population density
449/sq mi
vs
2,774/sq mi
Median home value
$235,000
vs
$292,700
Median gross rent: 66044 is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,038
vs
$1,091
Homeownership rate
38.6%
vs
43.6%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Lawrence is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
54.5%
vs
55.8%
Poverty rate: Lawrence is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
14.4%
vs
9.0%
Median age
24.4
vs
29.3

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.