Lawrence vs Los Angeles
The short version
- Lawrence is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 5% lower than in the Los Angeles area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $415,200 in Lawrence and $921,200 in Los Angeles.
- Households earn more in Los Angeles ($81,939 vs $60,433 median).
- Los Angeles has the warmer winter: January highs of 68°F vs 35°F.
- Lawrence gets far more snow: 58 inches a year vs 0.
- Commutes are shorter in Lawrence (23 vs 31 minutes each way).
Side by side
| Lawrence, MA | Los Angeles, CA | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 89,320 | 3,869,089 |
| Growth since 2020 | +0.2% | -0.8% |
| People per square mile | 12,889 | 8,223 |
| Median age | 32.6 | 37.2 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 17% | 39% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $60,433 | $81,939 |
| Median home value | $415,200 | $921,200 |
| Home value to income | 6.9× | 11.2× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,662 | $1,933 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 108.3 | 113.6 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 148.4 | 170.4 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $81,200 | $85,200 |
| Homeowners | 28% | 36% |
| Top state income tax | 9% | 13.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 9.03% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 23.0 | 30.7 |
| Work from home | 7% | 20% |
| Take public transit | 4% | 6% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 8.5% | 8.2% |
| Poverty rate | 17.6% | 16.5% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 35° / 19° | 68° / 49° |
| July high / low | 83° / 63° | 82° / 65° |
| Precipitation per year | 41 in | 14 in |
| Snowfall per year | 58 in | 0 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 15 | 26 |
| Nights below freezing | 123 | 0 |
| Comfortable months | 5 | 12 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Very High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 95.6 | 100.0 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 71% | 11% |
| Home prices, past year | +2.8% | +1.2% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +39.7% | +31.9% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Lawrence: May to September. Los Angeles: January to December.
Full monthly tables: Lawrence weather by month and Los Angeles weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $81,200 in Lawrence and $85,200 in Los Angeles. Moving from Lawrence to Los Angeles, you would need about $78,700 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Lawrence and Los Angeles
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Lawrence and Los Angeles.
Which would you pick?
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