Lawrence is a town full of newcomers likely to leave the city during the day to pay for their expensive houses.

It’s a familiar picture of the city; one confirmed again Tuesday with the Census Bureau’s release of extensive socioeconomic data from its 2000 survey of American households.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” Mayor Sue Hack said. “It doesn’t make me very comfortable, but it doesn’t surprise me.”

Among the highlights:

 Lawrence houses are generally newer than in the rest of Kansas. Statewide, half of all homes were built before 1966. In the city, half the homes were built after 1977.

 The occupants of those homes are more recent, as well. Half of all homeowners in Kansas moved into their house before 1991; in Lawrence, half the homeowners have moved in since 1994.

According to the numbers, Lawrence residents are more likely than other Kansans to be in a different house, county or state than they were in 1995.

 And the homes are more expensive. Statewide, the median value of a house is $81,000. In Lawrence, that figure is $112,800. That largely explains the disparity in median real estate taxes paid here: $1,288 per property, compared with $999 across Kansas.

 Renters don’t fare any better. Half of renters in Lawrence pay $555 or more per month for housing, taking up 30 percent of their income. Statewide, half the renters pay $498 a month or less, consuming 23 percent of their income.l Incomes among Lawrence residents aren’t anything to brag about. The median household income statewide is $40,624; in Lawrence, it’s $34,669.

 The drive-time numbers offered a mixed bag. Sixty-eight percent of Lawrence residents are within 20 minutes of work, compared with 59 percent of all Kansans. But nearly 10 percent of Lawrence residents have more a 45-minute commute from their job, more than the 6.8 percent in the rest of the state.

“I think this paints a very good picture of what a bedroom community looks like,” said Larry Kipp, president of Friends of Douglas County, a “smart growth” advocacy group. “It’s expensive to live here, and the wages aren’t very good, so if you’re going to live here, you have to get a job somewhere else.”

Hack and Kipp offered the same solution to the problem they saw in the census numbers: economic development. But they see somewhat different ways of getting there.

“If we don’t attract companies to Lawrence, these numbers are not going to get any different,” Hack said.

Kipp argued economic development efforts should focus on growing local businesses, instead of luring them from elsewhere.

“We need to be a home-office town, rather than being a branch-office town,” he said.

That might not change all the trends. Kipp said Lawrence was likely to continue attracting workers from Topeka and Kansas City who prefer to raise their families in a more suburban environment.

“Some of these factors we can control,” Kipp said. “And some of them, we can’t.”