Monroe, Michigan

Area Profile

20,320 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Monroe, in Monroe County.

47out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 12% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity4,115th of 4,199 cities measured22
Schools3,183rd of 4,162 cities measured29
Growth3,587th of 4,224 cities measured30
Housing affordability2,534th of 4,218 cities measured62
Climate3,169th of 4,225 cities measured62
Physical resilienceTop 33% of 4,226 cities measured72
AccessTop 49% of 4,226 cities measured93
Economic stability3,604th of 4,226 cities measured35
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.1% and the Opportunity signal places Monroe in the bottom 2%. The unemployment rate is published for Monroe County, MI, which contains Monroe, rather than for Monroe alone.

In the public schools here, 28% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 19.1 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 36% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.3 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
20,320
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$59,813
Bottom 39% nationally
Density
2,246/sq mi
9 sq mi of land
Median age
37.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Michigan
Metro area
Nearest major airport
DTW
21 mi · Detroit Metro Wayne County
Median home value
$167,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Monroe County, MI, which contains Monroe, is 5.1% — higher than in all but 22% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Monroe County, MI, which contains Monroe, fell 6.0% over the past year, to 68,676 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMonroe County, MI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$59,89527th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMonroe County, MI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$61,49326th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,5382024 ACS 5-Year$59,813Bottom 39%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,9622024 ACS 5-Year$31,285Bottom 41%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year19.0%Bottom 25%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year23.2 minTop 32%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year19.9%Bottom 48%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year80.1%60th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentMonroe County, MI’s figureJuly 202668,676Top 48%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Monroe County, MI’s figureJuly 2026−8.5%Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Monroe County, MI’s figureJuly 2026−6.0%Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceMonroe County, MI’s figureJuly 202672,35752nd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year68.7%Bottom 24%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageMonroe, MI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$58,040Bottom 10%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageMonroe, MI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$46,240Bottom 10%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%85th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Monroe County, MI’s figureJuly 2026−0.9%Top 14%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateMonroe County, MI’s figureJuly 20265.1%Bottom 22%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.8%46th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202460k54k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $59,813 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Monroe, MI

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,330$27,950
Retail Salespersons1,250$34,620
Cashiers1,220$29,320
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators1,110$36,870
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers1,090$54,510
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand950$39,520

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Monroe County, MI, which contains this city.

28% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 42% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 19.1 students for every full-time teacher across 13 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
15
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
19.1
across 13 of them
Math proficiency
27.6%
Bottom 27% in Michigan
Reading proficiency
42.1%
Bottom 37% in Michigan
The 12 largest of 15 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Monroe High SchoolMonroe Public Schools1,33221.124%45%
Triumph Academy · charterTriumph Academy77721.644%51%
Custer Elementary SchoolMonroe Public Schools76916.716%27%
Monroe Middle SchoolMonroe Public Schools67418.724%42%
Arborwood Elementary SchoolMonroe Public Schools46214.49%19%
Manor Elementary SchoolMonroe Public Schools44419.334%42%
Raisinville SchoolMonroe Public Schools44318.522%33%
Monroe County Middle CollegeMonroe ISD32035.657%87%
Jefferson Middle SchoolJefferson Schools (Monroe)30420.332%44%
Orchard Center High SchoolMonroe Public Schools26032.55%25%
Sodt Elementary SchoolJefferson Schools (Monroe)23616.9——
Monroe County Education CenterMonroe ISD11910.885%85%

60.0% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Michigan’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 7% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 93.3, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Monroe, MI Metro Area is up 36% over five years, and up 2.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,380 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.42% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,326, some 46% above the $909 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,326 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $53,000 a year, about 89% of the median household income here of $59,813.

The typical renter household here spends 36% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $909 a month.

A median home at $167,900 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $73,422, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
93.3

Prices here run about 7% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Monroe, MI Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
35.7%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,326
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$909
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$167,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Monroe’s median household income of $59,813, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Monroe, MI Metro Area’s figure202393.3Top 20%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Monroe, MI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+2.1%35th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Monroe, MI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+36.1%33rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Monroe, MI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+82.4%35th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 43%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year69.3%36th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3622024 ACS 5-Year9,00093rd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,011Top 24%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,605Top 23%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,326Top 29%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$472024 ACS 5-Year$909Top 43%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$3,7522024 ACS 5-Year$167,90045th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1222024 ACS 5-Year$2,38063rd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,2232024 ACS 5-Year$73,422Bottom 42%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year1.42%74th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year35.7%Bottom 19%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±212024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.2%34th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1442024 ACS 5-Year38287th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

30/ 100
Ranks 3,587 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 1% since 2020, to 20,177 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 5 units authorized in 2025, against 12 the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 10 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Monroe County, which contains Monroe, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $59,895, close to the $61,493 of households that moved out.

At 0.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
10
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.5
Bottom 15% nationally
Year over year
+25%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202420k20k
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. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
43%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$59,895
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$61,493
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Wayne County, MI 1,948 people · 33% of arrivals
  2. Lucas County, OH 1,115 people · 19% of arrivals
  3. Washtenaw County, MI 460 people · 7.7% of arrivals
  4. Lenawee County, MI 291 people · 4.9% of arrivals
  5. Oakland County, MI 151 people · 2.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Wayne County, MI 1,541 people · 27% of departures
  2. Lucas County, OH 1,071 people · 18% of departures
  3. Washtenaw County, MI 392 people · 6.8% of departures
  4. Lenawee County, MI 317 people · 5.5% of departures
  5. Oakland County, MI 165 people · 2.8% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Monroe County, MI. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025120.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 19°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 34.3 inches, including 45.0 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station DETROIT METRO AP, 21.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals34.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals45.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals19°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals48°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

72 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 62% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Strong windElevated
TornadoElevated
Inland floodingModerate
Ice stormModerate
HailModerate
Winter weatherModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, earthquake, lightning, coastal flooding, hurricane, wildfire, landslide, drought, volcanic activity, tsunami, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
587
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,154
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Monroe's police department reported 587 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,154.

Monroe County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.8 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 13.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 20.6 per 100,000 residents in Monroe County.

Homicide
2.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.5
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
20.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
15.5
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Monroe’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Monroe (Monroe County) rather than Monroe itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Detroit Metro Wayne County at 21 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year90.2%Top 48%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle21 miBottom 43%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.4%Bottom 45%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Detroit Metro Wayne CountyDTW21 mi12,003 ft
Eugene F Kranz Toledo ExpressTOL32 mi10,600 ft
Capital Region IntlLAN86 mi8,506 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
47
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Compare

Put Monroe side by side with a similar place.

Monroe vs IoniaMonroe vs Dearborn Heights

Moving to Monroe from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Monroe

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Monroe with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4816228,156$67,876$200,20048
4816126,304$67,414$176,20047