The median income for a household was $41,290. The median income for a family was $65,673. Men had a median income of $42,362. Women had a median income of $34,124. The per capita income was $23,666. About 10.7% of families and 23.4% of all people in Lawrence lived below the poverty line. This included 16.2% of children under 18 years old and 7.1% of people over 65 years old.
In 2000, there were 80,098 people, 31,388 households, and 15,725 families living in Lawrence. 83.80% of the people were White, 5.09% were African American, 2.93% were Native American, 3.78% were Asian, 0.07% were Pacific Islander, 1.36% were from other races, and 2.97% were from two or more races. 3.65% of the people were Hispanic or Latino. 91% of the people spoke English as their first language, 2.9% spoke Spanish as their first language, and 1% spoke Chinese as their first language.
There were 31,388 households. Of these, 25.1% had children under 18 years old. 38% had married people. 8.7% had only a woman as the main person (with no man). and 49.9% were not families. People living alone made up 30.6% of households, and 5.6% were people over 65 years old living alone. The average household size was 2.30. The average family size was 2.93.
By age, 18.6% of the people were under 18 years old. 30.7% of the people were between 18 and 24 years old. 28.5% of the people were between 25 and 44 years old. 15.1% of the people were between 45 and 64 years old. 7.2% were 65 years old or older. By gender, 50.6% of the people were women, and 49.4% of the people were men.
The median income for a household was $34,669. The median income for a family was $51,545. Men had a median income of $33,481. Women had a median income of $27,436. The per capita income was $19,378. About 7.3% of families and 18.9% of all people in Lawrence lived below the poverty line. This included 10.6% of children under 18 years old and 7.7% of people over 65 years old. However, Lawrence has a lot of students, and students usually have lower incomes. Therefore, the number of people living in poverty is misleading.
Much of Lawrence's economy is from the University of Kansas. The biggest private employer is Maximus Inc. Other big employers are Lawrence Public Schools, Hallmark Cards, the City of Lawrence, and Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
In the 1980s, Lawrence's economy grew. This is because the city created the East Hills Business Park in 1986. This is an industrial park. Some businesses moved to this place. Many of these businesses were from Kansas City, such as PROSOCO.
South Park is a big park in Downtown Lawrence. The park was made of four different parks, but they became just one big park. South Park was created in 1854. A gazebo was built in 1910. Bands play music at the park in the summer.
The Watkins Museum of History is one block north of South Park. It has exhibits about Lawrence and Douglas County. Next to the museum is a Japanese garden made by sister city Hiratsuka, Japan. The University of Kansas has the Natural History Museum in Dyche Hall, the Spencer Museum of Art and the Dole Institute of Politics among others.
Centennial Park was made in 1954 for Lawrence's 100th birthday. The park has many hills, a skatepark, a disc golf area, and a Polaris missile from the Cold War.
The Bowersock Opera House burned in 1911, so people built a new one. It is called "Liberty Hall." Liberty Hall is a small theater which often shows independent movies, and sometimes live acts. Liberty Hall also has a video rental store. The Granada Theater was built in 1928 as a vaudeville theater. In 1934, it became a movie theater. It closed in 1989, but it was reopened in 1993. Today, it shows comedy acts and concerts.
The Eldridge Hotel is a historic hotel. It is one of the oldest buildings in Lawrence. It was built in 1854, but it was burned in 1855. It was rebuilt, but it was burned in Quantrill's Raid. It was built again. In 1925, the hotel was renovated. In 1970, the hotel became apartments. In 1985, people worked to make it a hotel again. In 2004, the building was sold. It was changed to make it look like it was from 1925 again. It is a popular rumor that the ghost of Eldridge haunts the hotel. The Eldridge Hotel is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The University of Kansas (KU) has the Memorial Stadium and the Allen Fieldhouse. They built Memorial Stadium in 1920 for American football games. It is named to remember KU students who died in World War I. They built Allen Fieldhouse in 1955 for basketball games. On November 4, 2010, ESPN's magazine said that Allen Fieldhouse was the loudest basketball stadium in the United States. Mark Whicker, a famous sports writer, said Allen Fieldhouse "...is the best place in America to watch college basketball."
Oak Hill Cemetery is a cemetery in Lawrence for famous people from Lawrence. It was built in 1866. Memorial Park Cemetery is across the street. It has a memorial for James Naismith, the creator of basketball.
Lawrence has many historic houses, and some of them are on the National Register of Historic Places. The Robert Miller House did not burn in Quantrill's Raid, and it was part of the Underground Railroad. Ferdinand Fuller was one of the first people to move to Lawrence. He built his house in the Hillcrest Neighborhood. The John Roberts House is used for many formal events. John G. Haskell, a famous architect (someone who designs buildings), designed the John Roberts House.
Lawrence is known for a thriving music and art culture. "Rolling Stone" said Lawrence is one of the best small college towns in the United States on August 11, 2005. In 2005, "The New York Times" said Lawrence had one of the best music cultures in any city between Chicago and Denver. "Esquire" magazine said The Replay Lounge, a bar and music venue in Lawrence, was one of the best in the United States in 2007.
The University of Kansas has the Lied Center of Kansas. It is a building that shows many Broadway musicals. They have had famous bands perform, including The Beach Boys and Kansas.
In December 2005, the city said it would have "International Dadaism Month" in 2006. This was about the early 20th century art movement. In the spirit of Dada, Mayor Dennis “Boog” Highberger did not choose a calendar month for it. Instead, he chose the dates for the "Month" as February 4, March 28, April 1, July 15, August 2, August 7, August 16, August 26, September 18, September 22, October 1, October 17, and October 26. He chose these dates by rolling dice and pulling numbers out of a hat.
The Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival was an annual four-day music festival which began in 2004. It was held at Clinton Lake. Thousands of people went to the festival every year. They had many different kinds of bands play, including The Flaming Lips, STS9, Wilco, Matisyahu, and North Mississippi Allstars. Because of an agreement with the state government, the event was smaller than other festivals. As well as listening to music, people could also play disc golf, do yoga, go hiking, and go swimming. The festival moved to Mulberry Mountain, Arkansas. This happened because of a disagreement between the organizers and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks about the limits on the number of people and the rent.
Every year since 1959, on the third Thursday in July, Lawrence has had the "Massachusetts Street sidewalk sale." It is a big sale on Massachusetts Street. Many stores take part. Often, radio stations and live music are played during this event.