Living in Lawrence, Michigan: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11% below the U.S. average in the parts of Michigan outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Lawrence to say.
A safer neighborhood3 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 8.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byBronson Lakeview Hospital in Paw Paw, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityGrand Rapids is about 55 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Lawrence meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $133,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 19%Van Buren County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $587 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them: 51%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,836 a yearMichigan: $2,904
Homes built before 1940: 24%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 89U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Michigan outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Michigan outside metro areas, not Lawrence alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,0052020: 1,020
Median age: 36.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 18%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 5%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (29%); manufacturing (26%); retail (12%)
Work from home: 4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 29%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Bronson Lakeview Hospital, Paw Paw, MI, about 8 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 5 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Corewell Health Watervliet Hospital, Watervliet, MI, about 10 miles away. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Lawrence, run by Lawrence Public Schools.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Michigan's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription: 85%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 17°F
July average high: 83°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 13 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 153 a year
Rain and melted snow: 41.1 inches a year
Snow: 109 inches a year
Elevation: 700 feet

Weather station: Bloomingdale (13 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Bronson Lakeview HospitalEmergency room8

Kalamazoo, MICity of 73,00024

Grand Rapids, MIMetro of 1.2 million55

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Bronson Lakeview Hospital, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids.

Van Buren County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

North Country National Scenic Trail37 miles
Indiana Dunes National Park56 miles

Read about Lawrence's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lawrence?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Hartford, MI2,400 people, 6 miles
Bangor, MI2,000 people, 7 miles
Paw Paw, MI3,400 people, 8 miles
Decatur, MI1,600 people, 9 miles
Watervliet, MI1,700 people, 10 miles
Paw Paw Lake, MI3,900 people, 11 miles

Smaller places

Breedsville, MI197 people, 9 miles
Bloomingdale, MI528 people, 13 miles
Gobles, MI830 people, 14 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.