Lawrence County area

Lawrence County, Tennessee covers 618 square miles: 617.1 square miles of land and 0.857 square miles of water. Its county seat is Lawrenceburg. An estimated 46,914 people lived there in 2025.

Official Census measurements · GEOID 470992026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area617.1 mi²
Water area0.857 mi²
Population (2025)46,914
People per mi²76

County outline

Generalized outline of Lawrence County, Tennessee
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 99.9% of Lawrence County’s measured area and water for 0.1%. Its combined area converts to 1,600.6 square kilometers or approximately 395,512 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land617.131,598.359394,963.2
Water0.8572.22548.5
Total617.9871,600.579395,511.7

How Lawrence County compares

By original Census land area, Lawrence County ranks #9 of 95 in Tennessee and #1567 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 1.415 times the Tennessee county-equivalent median of 436.1 square miles. It accounts for 1.5% of the combined county land area in the state.

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

Population and density of Lawrence County

The Census Bureau estimates that 46,914 people lived in Lawrence County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #1,066 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #35 of 95 in Tennessee. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 44,158, the population has grown by 2,756 (+6.2%), compared with +5.8% for Tennessee as a whole.

With 617.1 square miles of land, that is 76 people per square mile (29 per km²), placing Lawrence County #1,200 nationally for density and #49 in Tennessee. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Tennessee median is 76. Put another way, there are about 8.4 acres of land per resident.

Estimated population, 2020–2025 · line scaled to this county’s own range
July 1202020212022202320242025
Estimate44,18544,78345,48046,09146,64446,914
Change—+598+697+611+553+270

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

4 incorporated places lie at least partly in Lawrence County. Together they are home to 15,441 people (32.9%); the other 31,473 (67.1%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.

The largest is Lawrenceburg city, with 12,236 residents in the county. Among places with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Lawrenceburg city grew fastest since then (+5.2%).

Incorporated placePopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²
Lawrenceburg cityCounty seat12,236+5.2%13
Loretto city1,813+5%3.904
St. Joseph city829+4.7%3.766
Ethridge town563+6.4%1.153

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 a central county of the Lawrenceburg, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area. Lawrence County is the area’s only county equivalent, so the micro area has the same 617.1 square miles of land. By combined land it ranks #346 of 542 micropolitan areas, and #249 by population. It belongs to the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro, TN Combined Statistical Area.

ZIP codes

11 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Lawrence County; 8 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.

3845638457384633846438468384693847338474384813848338486

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 5 county equivalents, including 1 in Alabama. It has more land than 3 of them. The largest neighbor is Wayne County (734.1 mi²) and the smallest is Lewis County (282.1 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Lawrence County forms a block of 3,525.4 mi² of land, of which it holds 17.5%.

Map of Lawrence County and the 5 county equivalents that border it Giles County, Tennessee: 610.9 mi² landWayne County, Tennessee: 734.1 mi² landLauderdale County, Alabama: 668 mi² landLewis County, Tennessee: 282.1 mi² landMaury County, Tennessee: 613.1 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
Wayne County734.11.2× largerCompare
Lauderdale CountyAlabama6681.1× largerCompare
Maury County613.1about the sameCompare
Giles County610.9about the sameCompare
Lewis County282.12.2× 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 1.7 times as much. Tennessee’s county land could hold about 67 areas the size of Lawrence County.

Land area: Lawrence County and the closest-sized states
Lawrence County617.1 mi²
Rhode Island1,033.9 mi²

Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 24.8 miles (40 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 1,655 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
Lawrence County617.1 mi²
Tennessee median436.1 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 #1,686 nationally by total area, 119 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 0.1%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 1 percentage points lower. 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
#1566Wood County, Ohio617.2Compare
#1567Lawrence County, Tennessee617.1This county
#1568Turner County, South Dakota617.1Compare

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 35.212843, -87.388112. 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: 1,598,359,123 m²; AWATER: 2,218,403 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, Tennessee has 617.1 square miles (1,598.4 km²) of land and 0.857 square miles of water, for a total area of 618 square miles. It ranks #1567 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.

Is Lawrence County the largest county in Tennessee?

No. Lawrence County ranks #9 of 95 in Tennessee by land area. The largest is Shelby County, with 752.8 square miles of land.

What counties border Lawrence County?

Lawrence County shares a land border with Giles County, Wayne County, Lauderdale County, Alabama, Lewis County, and Maury County.

What is the population of Lawrence County?

The Census Bureau estimates Lawrence County had 46,914 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #1,066 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 76 people per square mile of land.

What is the county seat of Lawrence County?

The county seat of Lawrence County is Lawrenceburg.

What cities and towns are in Lawrence County?

Lawrence County has 4 incorporated places. The most populous are Lawrenceburg city, Loretto city, St. Joseph city, and Ethridge town; 31,473 residents live outside any incorporated place.

Is Lawrence County part of a metropolitan area?

Yes. It is a central county of the Lawrenceburg, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area.

How many ZIP codes are in Lawrence County?

11 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Lawrence County, and 8 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 1.7 times as much land.

How many acres of land are in Lawrence County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 394,963 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 395,512 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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