Best PlacesLawrence, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lawrence, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Lawrence ranks 1,779th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Lawrence
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Lawrence's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lawrence ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than 93% of cities
- TransitBetter than 91% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than 89% of cities
Where Lawrence ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 1% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 2% of cities
- School gradeD−, better than only 3% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 3% of cities
- Cheap childcare$1,897 a month, better than only 4% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Lawrence
A household needs to earn about $117,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lawrence home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $63,730, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Lawrence's effective rate of 0.83%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Lawrence
Lawrence runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Lawrence.
Who works in Lawrence, and how
Work in Lawrence centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Lawrence
Lawrence has more parkland per resident than 90% of cities. The coast is about 23 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Lawrence and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Lawrence, month by month
Lawrence sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 61° | 48° | 37° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Lawrence
The nearest airport, Manchester Boston Regional, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 25 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lawrence
Schools across Lawrence average a D−, better than 3% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- South ElementaryA · 66% proficient
- West ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- Louise Davy TrahanB · 46% proficient
Top middle schools
- Andover West MiddleA · 59% proficient
- John W. Wynn MiddleB · 45% proficient
- North Andover MiddleB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Andover HighA · 78% proficient
- North Andover HighA · 67% proficient
- Tewksbury Memorial HighA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lawrence school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lawrence measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Lawrence against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Lawrence suits
Families
Schools land around the 3rd percentile and crime safety beats 65%.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Lawrence
Is Lawrence a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lawrence ranks 1,779th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on walkability, clean air, and few empty homes, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lawrence expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $446,189. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $63,730 median income, cost of living beats 1% of cities.
Is Lawrence safe?
Yes, Lawrence is safer than 65% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $265 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lawrence?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 21. That works out to about 62 pleasant days a year, more than 11% of cities.
Is Lawrence good for families?
Schools beat 3% of cities, crime safety beats 65%, and childcare runs $1,897 a month.
Compare Lawrence with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lawrence. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lawrence represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Lawrence detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lawrence: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lawrence: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lawrence: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lawrence: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lawrence detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.