Claiborne vs Monroe

Which is the better fit for you?

Claiborne, LA
69
Area Score
Top 17% nationally
Monroe, LA
50
Area Score
Bottom 20% nationally

Want a third or fourth place beside these? Open them in the shortlist and add more.

Claiborne receives the higher standardized Area Score. That reflects AreaProfile's weighting, not a judgment about which place is better to live in.

If you are moving

What the difference in prices, rent, homes and weather comes to, using the published figures for the two places. Add your income to see what it would take to keep pace.

Moving from Claiborne to Monroe

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Everyday prices
About the same
Regional price level 83.6 against 83.6 (US = 100). Both places sit in the same price region, so the index cannot tell them apart.
Income to keep the same purchasing power
Enter your household income to see it.
A new two-bedroom lease
The same
HUD benchmarks it at $1,026 in Monroe against $1,026 in Claiborne.
The median home
9% less
$198,900 in Monroe against $219,200 in Claiborne.
The weather you would swap
Similar winters
Normal January lows are 37°F in Monroe against 37°F in Claiborne; July highs are 93°F against 93°F (summers the same).

These are differences between published figures, not a forecast of your budget. Income and sales taxes, commuting, schools, insurance and the job you would actually get are not in them, and a price index describes a metropolitan area, so two places in one metro read the same. HUD’s rent is a benchmark for a new lease, not a listing.

Signals

Claiborne
Monroe
Opportunity: Claiborne is the more favorable of the two.
Opportunity
64 · Top 35%
vs
40 · Bottom 18%
Growth: Claiborne is the more favorable of the two.
Growth
52 · Top 47%
vs
28 · Bottom 12%
Climate
71 · Top 45%
vs
71 · Top 45%
Physical resilience
87 · Top 14%
vs
87 · Top 14%
Housing affordability: Claiborne is the more favorable of the two.
Housing affordability
71 · Top 38%
vs
51 · Bottom 22%
Schools: Claiborne is the more favorable of the two.
Schools
79 · Top 13%
vs
28 · Bottom 23%
Access: Claiborne is the more favorable of the two.
Access
48 · Bottom 3%
vs
46 · Bottom 3%
Economic stability: Claiborne is the more favorable of the two.
Economic stability
55 · Bottom 45%
vs
18 · Bottom 2%

Measured values

MetricClaiborneMonroeSource period
Population13,30847,0042024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income$72,420 — more favorable$40,5052024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income$36,751 — more favorable$30,5262024 ACS 5-Year
Population density1,337/sq mi1,581/sq mi2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value$219,200$198,9002024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent$1,206$886 — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, two bedroom$1,026$1,026FY2026
Cost of living index83.683.62023
Homeownership rate69.0%47.8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment rate4.2% — more favorable5.5%July 2026
Employment change (year over year)+0.5%+0.5%July 2026
Bachelor's degree or higher — the two are too close to separate35.5% ±4%32.4% ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate11.6% — more favorable34.3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units permitted (12 months)3772512 months ending July 2026
Permits per 1,000 residents2.4 — more favorable0.512 months ending July 2026
Permit change (year over year)+13.2%0.0%12 months ending July 2026
Average July high93°F93°F1991-2020 Normals
Average January low37°F37°F1991-2020 Normals
Annual precipitation55.1"55.1"1991-2020 Normals
Distance to major airport86 mi — more favorable87 miNASR current cycle
Average commute — the two are too close to separate21.6 min ±1.9 min20.2 min ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year
Median age36.235.02024 ACS 5-Year
Public schools10352024-25 school year
Students per teacher16.213.2 — more favorable2024-25 school year
Math proficiency81.3% — more favorable58.0%2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency84.7% — more favorable65.5%2018-19 school year
Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility49.8%78.1%2024-25 school year

A bolded value is the more favorable of the two where the metric has a clear direction. Metrics like population and density have no inherent better or worse and are shown unweighted.

2 rows above show both figures with a ± margin and neither in bold. Those come from the American Community Survey, which samples rather than counts, and the gap between the two is smaller than the uncertainty on the figures themselves — so the survey did not find a difference to report, and calling either one the winner would be reading a result out of noise.

The number of units permitted is not marked because the larger place always permits more; the per-resident rate is the fair comparison. The year-over-year change is not marked either: a percentage on fewer than 300 units swings on a handful of permits.

Physical risk tradeoff

Claiborne

Elevated or high exposure: ice storm.

Monroe

Elevated or high exposure: ice storm.

Your best match

Weight what matters to you. Your preferences stay in this browser and never change either Area Score.

Claiborne
—
Claiborne: Your Score
69
Area Score
Monroe
—
Monroe: Your Score
50
Area Score

Select your priorities to see which of the two fits them better.

Full profiles: Claiborne, LA · Monroe, LA · How this is calculated: methodology