This file photo from 2006 shows a residential neighborhood north of Sixth Street and Wakarusa Drive in Lawrence.

Even with housing prices rising and construction activity falling, Lawrence found room for more than 560 new residents last year, according to the latest numbers from the Census.

But the new report also gave a glimpse at how Lawrence’s growth machine is shifting into a slower gear. Several significantly smaller cities — Andover, Lenexa, Merriam, Manhattan — all added more people than Lawrence did during the 12-month period from July 2023 to July 2024.

While Lawrence kept its spot as one of the 10 largest growing cities in the state, it wasn’t particularly one of the fastest growing ones. Of the 10 cities that added the most people last year, Lawrence had the slowest percentage growth rate.

The latest population numbers from the Census are likely beginning to reflect some of the slowdown in Lawrence’s housing industry. In 2022, Lawrence set a new low for single family home construction with just 79 single family building permits issued by the city. Homes that began construction in 2022 would become available for residents to move into during late 2023 and early 2024, in most instances. That roughly matches the time period the Census Bureau measured population.

If you are wondering how 79 new single family homes housed 563 new residents, the answer isn’t that every new home housed the Brady Bunch. Rather, it is likely many of the new residents are living in apartments. Lawrence issued building permits for 206 new apartments in 2022.

Here’s a look at the 10 cities that added the most people from July 2023 to July 2024, according to the Census estimates.

• Wichita: 400,991, up 3,335 people, up 0.73% from a year ago.

• Kansas City, Kan.: 156,752, up 2,284, up 1.48%

• Olathe: 149,035, up 1,890, up 1.28%

• Overland Park: 202,893, up 1,670, up 0.83%

• Andover: 17,000, up 1,191, up 7.53%

• Lenexa: 59,427, up 1,023, up 1.75%

• Merriam: 11,560, up 710, up 6.54%

• Manhattan: 54,700, up 684, up 1.27%

• Lawrence: 97,271, up 563, up 0.58%

• Bel Aire: 10,066, up 501, up 5.24%

If Lawrence’s housing slowdown did indeed slow Lawrence’s population growth, it will be interesting to watch what happens the next couple of years. While Lawrence set a new low for single family home construction in 2022, it broke that record — rather easily — in 2024. Lawrence issued only 57 single family building permits in 2024. Additionally, apartment construction also has slowed since 2022. All of that may add up to slower population growth in the 2025 and 2026 Census reports, and also may put continued pressure on Lawrence housing prices as new residents battle over a limited number of homes.

Last year, a report by the trade journal Construction Coverage listed Lawrence as one of the communities with the slowest rates of new housing growth. The same report, which used 2023 numbers, also showed the Lawrence metro area had one of the highest prices for a “typical home” in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma and Arkansas, using data from the real estate company Zillow. Only the Fayetteville, Ark. metro had a higher typical home price.

Here’s a look at some other pieces of key data from the Census Bureau’s annual population estimates report, which provides population totals for every city in the U.S.:

• With a population of 97,271 (yes, that includes students,)Lawrence continues to be the fifth largest city in the state. Ahead of Lawrence are: Wichita, 400,991; Overland Park, 202,893; Kansas City, Kan., 156,752; Olathe, 149,035; and Topeka, 125,467. Lawrence likely will stay in fifth place for quite awhile, as Shawnee is the city right below us, however it hasn’t yet cracked the 70,000 population mark.

• In terms of percentage growth, Lawrence was the third-fastest growing city in Douglas County. Both Baldwin City and Eudora posted higher growth percentages in 2024. For that matter, there were quite a few communities within an approximately 30-minute drive of Lawrence that posted large growth percentages. Here’s a look at several communities surrounding Lawrence.

Spring Hill: 10,007, up 402 people, up 4.16%

Basehor: 7,996, up 264, up 3.41%

Gardner: 25,836, up 491, up 1.94%

Bonner Springs: 7,832, up 139, up 1.81%

Tonganoxie: 6,195, up 72, up 1.18%

Eudora: 6,564, up 52, up 0.8%

De Soto: 6,579, up 49, up 0.75%

Baldwin City: 4,985, up 37, up 0.75%

Leavenworth: 37,370, up 237, up 0.64%

Perry: 846, up 2, up 0.24%

Lecompton: 592, up 1, up 0.17%

Ottawa: 12,733, up 14, up 0.11%

Wellsville: 1,933, up 2, up 0.10%

McLouth: 838, no change

Edgerton: 1,716, down 3, down 0.17%

Oskaloosa: 1,072, down 6, down 0.56%

Overbrook: 998, down 6, down 0.60%

• The fact that Lawrence grew at all put it in the minority of Kansas communities. According to the latest estimates, there were 407 cities and towns in Kansas that lost population during the last year, while 219 in the state grew or held steady.

• The latest report provided population numbers dating back to 2020. When you look back to the beginning of the decade, Lawrence has added the 5th most people of any city in the state. Here’s a look at the top 10 since 2020:

Olathe: up 7,475 people, 5.28%

Overland Park: up 5,041, 2.55%

Wichita: up 2,924, 0.73%

Gardner: up 2,408, 10.28%

Lawrence: up 2,332, 2.46%

Shawnee: up 2,294, 3.40%

Andover: up 2,033, 13.58%

Spring Hill: up 1,965, 24.24%

Lenexa: up 1,898, 3.30%

Bel Aire, up 1,758, 21.15%

• A few larger cities in Kansas had bounce back years on the population front in 2024. Topeka added 113 residents, after years of decline. Since 2020 the Capital City has lost 963 residents. Salina also added 108 residents after having lost 732 since 2020, and Junction City added 113 after losing 896 since the turn of the decade.