Real estate · Metro area · Kansas
Real estate businesses in the Lawrence, KS metro area
How the Lawrence, KS metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 43 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #250 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 4 scored metro areas based in Kansas
- Listings
- 142
- 13 chain locations (9%)
- Official establishments
- 101
- +6.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $706.2M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $14,011 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 115
- 15% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 28.2
- 27% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 120,920
- +1.8% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in the Lawrence metro area
The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Lawrence metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Map listings as of September 2026 show 142 real estate businesses in the Lawrence metro area. 13 of them (9%) are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 28.2, 27% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.
Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in the Lawrence metro area comes to about $706.2M a year: $14,011 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 15% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in.
Official counts show 101 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Lawrence metro area in 2023, up 6.3% from 2019. That is one for every 499 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Official counts also show 443 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $103K has gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Lawrence metro area.
Population estimates show the Lawrence metro area grew 1.8% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For real estate businesses, the Lawrence metro area has a Groundwork market score of 43 (lower middle): #250 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 4 scored metro areas based in Kansas.
How the Lawrence metro area compares
The same measures for Kansas and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Lawrence metro area | Kansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 28.2 | 32.3 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 115 | 101 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 499 | 498 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +6.3% | +6.8% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.8% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $14,011 | $14,105 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $69,746 | $74,275 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 43 | 39 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 101+6.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 349
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $17M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 443Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 14213 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 163The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $103K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Lawrence metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Lawrence metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 120,920+1.8% since 2020
- Households
- 50,406
- Median age
- 35.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 50%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 456 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 264
- Median household income
- $69,746+17.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $96,109
- Median home value
- $309,400
- Jobs located here
- 51,342
- Daytime population
- 115,968Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Lawrence metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Lawrence metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardReal estate across Kansas
Every Kansas market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Kansas for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Kansas (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Lawrence metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Kansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joplin, MO-KS | 53 | 191 | 24.0 | 124 | +3.9% | #151 of 387 |
| St. Joseph, MO-KS | 45 | 109 | 23.2 | 130 | −2.0% | #232 of 387 |
| 1Topeka, KS | 44 | 255 | 26.3 | 119 | +0.1% | #240 of 387 |
| 2Lawrence, KS | 43 | 142 | 28.2 | 115 | +1.8% | #250 of 387 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 35 | 3,564 | 39.8 | 86 | +3.4% | #341 of 387 |
| 3Wichita, KS | 32 | 882 | 34.6 | 91 | +2.4% | #357 of 387 |
| 4Manhattan, KS | 19 | 204 | 39.8 | 77 | +1.4% | #387 of 387 |
Other business types in the Lawrence metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in the Lawrence, KS metro area?
There are 142 real estate businesses on map listings in the Lawrence metro area as of September 2026. 13 of them (9%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 101 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 6.3% from 2019. Another 443 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Lawrence, KS metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $706.2M a year, or $14,011 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 142 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 15% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 50,406 households in the Lawrence metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Lawrence, KS metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
The Lawrence metro area has 28.2 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 27% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 115, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Lawrence metro area would have about 163, against 142 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 499 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.
How fast is the Lawrence, KS metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Lawrence metro area at 120,920 people in 2025, up 1.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 50,406 households. The median household income in the Lawrence metro area is $69,746 a year, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 17.4% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Lawrence metro area scores 43 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #250 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Lawrence metro area. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in the Lawrence metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lawrence metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Lawrence metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.