Lawrence County area

Lawrence County, Alabama covers 717.2 square miles: 690.7 square miles of land and 26.5 square miles of water. Its county seat is Moulton. An estimated 33,843 people lived there in 2025.

Official Census measurements · GEOID 010792026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area690.7 mi²
Water area26.5 mi²
Population (2025)33,843
People per mi²49

County outline

Generalized outline of Lawrence County, Alabama
2025 Census cartographic boundary, fitted to this frame. County maps are not at a common scale. The 2026 area measurements below come from the separate Gazetteer release. Map source and limitations.

Where Lawrence County is located

Lawrence County highlighted on a map of all U.S. county equivalents. About the maps

Area breakdown

Land accounts for 96.3% of Lawrence County’s measured area and water for 3.7%. Its combined area converts to 1,857.5 square kilometers or approximately 459,010 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land690.6851,788.866442,038.4
Water26.51868.68116,971.5
Total717.2031,857.547459,009.9

How Lawrence County compares

By original Census land area, Lawrence County ranks #32 of 67 in Alabama and #1355 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 1.028 times the Alabama county-equivalent median of 672.1 square miles. It accounts for 1.4% of the combined county land area in the state.

See the complete Alabama ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?

Population and density of Lawrence County

The Census Bureau estimates that 33,843 people lived in Lawrence County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #1,383 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #35 of 67 in Alabama. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 33,071, the population has grown by 772 (+2.3%), compared with +3.3% for Alabama as a whole.

With 690.7 square miles of land, that is 49 people per square mile (19 per km²), placing Lawrence County #1,572 nationally for density and #34 in Alabama. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Alabama median is 49. Put another way, there are about 13 acres of land per resident.

Estimated population, 2020–2025 · line scaled to this county’s own range
July 1202020212022202320242025
Estimate33,08533,06433,18733,51633,65133,843
Change—−21+123+329+135+192

U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.

Cities and towns in Lawrence County

6 incorporated places lie at least partly in Lawrence County. Together they are home to 6,018 people (17.8%); the other 27,825 (82.2%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.

The largest is Moulton city, with 3,436 residents in the county. Among places with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Moulton city grew fastest since then (+1.3%).

Incorporated placePopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²
Moulton cityCounty seat3,436+1.3%5.994
Town Creek town1,067+0.9%2.681
Courtland town594+2.6%2.952
North Courtland town500+2.9%0.662
Hillsboro town419+0.7%1.881
Trinity cityAlso in 1 other county20%5.16

Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each place inside Lawrence County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer, for the whole place even where it extends into other counties. How communities are listed.

Metropolitan area

Lawrence County is an outlying county of the Decatur, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its 2 county equivalents have 160,326 residents on 1,270.4 square miles of land; Lawrence County accounts for 54.4% of the land and 21.1% of the residents. By combined land it ranks #245 of 393 metropolitan areas, and #277 by population. It belongs to the Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL-TN Combined Statistical Area.

County equivalentPopulation 2025Land mi²
Morgan County126,483579.7
Lawrence County33,843690.7

ZIP codes

10 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Lawrence County; 7 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.

35565356033561835619356433565035651356543567235673

ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.

Counties bordering Lawrence County

Lawrence County shares a land border with 7 county equivalents. It has more land than 6 of them. The largest neighbor is Cullman County (734.7 mi²) and the smallest is Limestone County (563.4 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Lawrence County forms a block of 5,076.5 mi² of land, of which it holds 13.6%.

Map of Lawrence County and the 7 county equivalents that border it Morgan County, Alabama: 579.7 mi² landWinston County, Alabama: 613 mi² landFranklin County, Alabama: 634 mi² landColbert County, Alabama: 593 mi² landLimestone County, Alabama: 563.4 mi² landLauderdale County, Alabama: 668 mi² landCullman County, Alabama: 734.7 mi² land
Lawrence County (dark) and its bordering county equivalents. Select a neighbor to open its profile. Drawn from the 2025 Census cartographic boundaries in an equal-area projection. How borders are determined.
Bordering county equivalentLand mi²Size vs. LawrenceCompare
Cullman County734.71.1× largerCompare
Lauderdale County668about the sameCompare
Franklin County6341.1× smallerCompare
Winston County6131.1× smallerCompare
Colbert County5931.2× smallerCompare
Morgan County579.71.2× smallerCompare
Limestone County563.41.2× smallerCompare

How big is Lawrence County compared with U.S. states?

Lawrence County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 1.5 times as much. Alabama’s county land could hold about 73 areas the size of Lawrence County.

Land area: Lawrence County and the closest-sized states
Lawrence County690.7 mi²
Rhode Island1,033.9 mi²

Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 26.3 miles (42.3 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.

State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.

What stands out about Lawrence County?

Lawrence County has more land than 1,867 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
Lawrence County690.7 mi²
Alabama median672.1 mi²
National median604.5 mi²

A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.

Does including water change its rank?

Using land plus water places Lawrence County at #1,388 nationally by total area, 33 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.

Its water share is 3.7%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 2.5 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.

Closest positions in the national land ranking

These entries sit immediately beside Lawrence County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.

Land rankCounty equivalentLand mi²Comparison
#1354Clarke County, Mississippi691.6Compare
#1355Lawrence County, Alabama690.7This county
#1356Franklin County, Virginia690.6Compare

Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.

Representative coordinates

The Census internal point is 34.529776, -87.321865. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.

Source and precision

U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 1,788,864,891 m²; AWATER: 68,681,747 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.

Download the official county source ZIP ↗ · Methodology

Common questions

How big is Lawrence County?

Lawrence County, Alabama has 690.7 square miles (1,788.9 km²) of land and 26.5 square miles of water, for a total area of 717.2 square miles. It ranks #1355 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.

Is Lawrence County the largest county in Alabama?

No. Lawrence County ranks #32 of 67 in Alabama by land area. The largest is Baldwin County, with 1,589.9 square miles of land.

What counties border Lawrence County?

Lawrence County shares a land border with Morgan County, Winston County, Franklin County, Colbert County, Limestone County, Lauderdale County, and Cullman County.

What is the population of Lawrence County?

The Census Bureau estimates Lawrence County had 33,843 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #1,383 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 49 people per square mile of land.

What is the county seat of Lawrence County?

The county seat of Lawrence County is Moulton.

What cities and towns are in Lawrence County?

Lawrence County has 6 incorporated places. The most populous five are Moulton city, Town Creek town, Courtland town, North Courtland town, and Hillsboro town; 27,825 residents live outside any incorporated place.

Is Lawrence County part of a metropolitan area?

Yes. It is an outlying county of the Decatur, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has 2 county equivalents and 160,326 residents.

How many ZIP codes are in Lawrence County?

10 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Lawrence County, and 7 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.

How does Lawrence County compare with U.S. states?

It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 1.5 times as much land.

How many acres of land are in Lawrence County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 442,038 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 459,010 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.

Why might another source show a different area?

Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.

Can this establish a property boundary?

No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.

Cite this county

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