What salary do you need to live in Lawrence, KS?

Lawrence housing costs at a glance

Median gross rent, meaning contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities, runs $959, $1,100 and $1,464 a month for one, two and three bedrooms across Lawrence, KS. The largest of those is 53% more than the smallest.

Buying is the other half of the housing picture: owners put the median home in Lawrence, KS at $309,400. With median household income at $69,746, a typical home costs 4.4× a typical income, close to the middle of the range across US metros.

The Regional Price Parity, BEA's index of local prices with the US at 100, is 90.2 here. Below 100 means a paycheck stretches further: $100,000 in Lawrence has the buying power of roughly $110,812 at national average prices.

Lawrence: the pre-tax income for each grade

For two bedrooms, $129,000 is where Lawrence turns Comfortable. Below that, $64,000 marks the start of Okay and $32,000 the start of Tight; under $32,000 the score reads Stretched. Rent at the Comfortable line is 10% of gross pay.

The Royal grade is within reach at $315,000 a year, where both rent and the median home price look small next to income.

These lines come straight from the calculator's formula: the income is raised until the two-bedroom score crosses each cutoff, then rounded up to the next $1,000.

What different incomes look like in Lawrence

At $75,000 home size barely changes the picture: one, two and three bedrooms all grade Okay, with scores from 45 to 52.

Of the four salaries, $150,000 is the first where a two-bedroom reads Comfortable or better; $100,000 still lands at Okay.

Lawrence compared with every US metro

Ranked against all 387 metros, Lawrence sits 284th on overall price level and 216th on the two-bedroom rent median, counting from the most expensive. Its median home value ranks 139th.

Its nearest neighbors on the rent list are Helena, MT ($1,102) and Killeen-Temple, TX ($1,099).

Lawrence next to Kansas and similar metros

Statewide, Kansas's median two-bedroom rent is $1,042 and its median home value $217,200. Lawrence's rent is +6% against that, and its home value +42%; the price parity is 90.2 versus 90.1 for the state.

Run Kansas's statewide medians through the same score and Comfortable begins at $107,000; Lawrence's line is +21% from that.

If Lawrence is on your list, Wichita, KS, Manhattan, KS, and Topeka, KS are the most similar Kansas metros by two-bedroom rent and price level; the table shows where each turns Comfortable.

Lawrence's median income on the scale

What about a typical local household? Census puts median household income here at $69,746, which grades Okay (47) for a two-bedroom at the median rent. Put differently, Lawrence's typical household is $59,254 below the $129,000 it takes to read Comfortable on two bedrooms. Statewide, the Kansas median household ($74,275) grades Okay on the state's own medians. Household income can include more than one earner, so a single salary of the same size goes less far.

All figures are pre-tax estimates from public data, not financial advice.