Monroe, LA

Metro Area Profile

223,674 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Monroe, LA metropolitan area.

59out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 31% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity308th of 379 published metros40
Growth514th of 821 published metros42
Housing affordability549th of 822 published metros88
ClimateTop 34% of 822 published metros71
Physical resilienceTop 17% of 822 published metros77
Access730th of 822 published metros48
Economic stability747th of 822 published metros20
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published metro profiles: unemployment is 5.1% and the Opportunity signal places Monroe in the bottom 19%.

Rent takes 22% of median household income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.3 times that income.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published metro profiles, placing Monroe in the top 17% for physical resilience.

At a glance

Population
223,674
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$51,660
Bottom 9% nationally
Density
79/sq mi
2837.8 sq mi of land
Median age
38.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Monroe, LA
Nearest major airport
GLH
84 mi · Greenville Mid-Delta
Median home value
$170,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.1% is lower than 19% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment grew 1.1% over the past year, to 93,173 employed residents.

Median household income of $51,660 is below 91% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,933$51,660Bottom 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,052$30,966Bottom 22%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate24.5%Top 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute24.9 minTop 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher24.6%Bottom 48%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment93,173Bottom 41%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)0.3%Top 49%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)1.1%Top 13%June 2026
Labor force98,160Bottom 42%June 2026
Labor force participation57.2%Bottom 31%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$48,850Bottom 2%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$38,150Bottom 2%2025 OEWS
Metro employment87,500Bottom 43%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.2%Bottom 35%June 2026
Unemployment rate5.1%Top 19%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/066.83.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.1% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Monroe, LA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides4,530$21,720
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand2,830$35,260
Retail Salespersons2,350$27,710
Registered Nurses2,340$78,270
Cashiers2,330$24,490
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,060$21,550

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $931 takes 22% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.3 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
21.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.3×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$931
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$170,300
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.30Top 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate64.0%Bottom 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±87102,235Top 23%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$24$931Bottom 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,500$170,300Bottom 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income21.6%Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate14.9%Top 28%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
42/ 100
Ranks 514 of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 2% since 2020, reaching 221,921 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 2.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
467
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.1
Bottom 41% nationally
Year over year
+19%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024227k222k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 93°F and January a low of 37°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 55.1 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MONROE RGNL AP, 11.0 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation55.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low37°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing36°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

77 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, strong wind and ice storm.

Ice stormElevated
Strong windModerate
EarthquakeModerate
HailModerate
HurricaneModerate
LightningModerate
Cold waveModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, tornado, inland flooding, wildfire, drought, winter weather.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 84 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Greenville Mid-DeltaGLH84 mi8,001 ft
Alexandria IntlAEX97 mi9,352 ft
Shreveport RgnlSHV104 mi8,348 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
59
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.