There may be more homeowners in Lawrence feeling stretched thin these days than in other cities in the state, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The latest release from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey project found that Lawrence had the highest percentage of homeowners who spend 35 percent or more of their monthly income on housing costs.

“There are certainly some reasons why that could be concerning,” said Roger Zalneraitis, the city’s economic development planner and coordinator, and a former researcher for the Federal Reserve.

The numbers found that 18.6 percent of all homeowners in Lawrence were spending 35 percent or more of their income on housing costs — which includes the mortgage payment, real estate taxes, insurance and utilities. Statewide, 11.7 percent of homeowners reported spending 35 percent or more on housing.

Zalneraitis said one possible explanation for the high percentage is that Lawrence is a young community. Young people may be buying homes before they reach their peak income earning periods, which means they’re spending a large percentage of their income on housing. Zalneraitis said if that’s the reason for Lawrence leading the pack, he’s not overly concerned because the young wage-earners will start earning more over time.

But a check of data for other university communities showed Lawrence was high compared to them as well. Manhattan, home to Kansas State University, had only 10.7 percent of people spending 35 percent or more on housing. A check of six out-of-state university communities — Columbia, Mo.; Ames, Iowa; Iowa City, Iowa; Norman, Okla.; Champaign, Ill.; and Chapel Hill, N.C. — found Lawrence topped that list as well.

If it is not a college town phenomenon, that leaves the possibility that Lawrence has relatively expensive housing or relatively low incomes.

“I was surprised when I first started working out here that our housing prices were higher than some of the housing prices in the Kansas City metro area,” Zalneraitis said.

The new data from the Census showed what most in the community have long known: Housing prices in Lawrence are far more expensive than most of the other areas of the state. The median home value of owner-occupied homes in Lawrence checked in at $164,700. That’s $50,000 more than the statewide average, and more than $75,000 more than in Topeka.

But despite Lawrence having housing costs significantly higher than the statewide average, its median income levels often were below the statewide average — even factoring out college students who work part-time and artificially drive down the overall income average. Median income means half of incomes are above the number and half are below it.

The Census Bureau measures earnings for full-time, year-round workers. In Lawrence, male workers earned $39,959, or about 3.8 percent less than the statewide average. Full-time female workers earned $32,946, about 5.5 percent above the state average.

Lawrence Mayor Mike Dever said the numbers should serve as a reminder that the city still has work to do on creating affordable housing options. He said the housing slowdown has left between 750 and 1,000 vacant lots ready to be built on.

“Generally speaking, the only way we’re going to create more affordable housing is by making it a priority,” Dever said. “I’m hoping that with the number of lots not being as constrained as it has been in the past that it will be easier to create some affordable housing.”

The latest Census release was for data gathered from 2005 through 2007. The bureau then released a three-year average, which it said should make the data more accurate.