Lawrence Township is the municipality, and Lawrenceville is a smaller historic village inside it. The township covers about 22 square miles of Mercer County and had 33,077 residents in the 2020 Census. Lawrenceville, the village around Main Street, had 3,751. Most of the township shares the 08648 ZIP code and a Lawrenceville mailing address, which is why people use the two names as if they mean the same place.

The naming goes back a long way. The area was settled as Maidenhead in 1697 and renamed Lawrence in 1816, after naval officer James Lawrence. The village kept its own name, and it stuck.

For buyers and sellers, the difference shows up in practical ways. Property taxes, zoning, and the public school district all come from Lawrence Township, not the village. The village is the part with The Lawrenceville School and a walkable Main Street of shops and restaurants. The rest of the township includes neighborhoods like Colonial Lakelands, Eldridge Park, and the Quaker Bridge area near Route 1, and each has its own feel and price range.

Fred Gomberg has lived in Lawrenceville for 30 years and sits on the board of Lawrenceville Main Street. He works with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach in Princeton and has handled 66 sales in Lawrence Township since 2014, according to Bright MLS. When a listing says “Lawrenceville,” he can tell a buyer whether that means the village, the Route 1 corridor, or somewhere in between.