28112Monroe, North Carolina

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 28112.

65out of 100
Area Score
Top 33% of 5,298 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 27% of 6,210 ZIP areas measured66
Schools3224th of 4,422 ZIP areas measured34
GrowthTop 2% of 5,428 ZIP areas measured84
Housing affordabilityTop 27% of 6,685 ZIP areas measured92
ClimateTop 27% of 6,789 ZIP areas measured76
Physical resilience4694th of 6,709 ZIP areas measured37
Access5075th of 6,791 ZIP areas measured83
Economic stability3446th of 6,742 ZIP areas measured59
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.6% and median household income $80,495, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published ZIP profiles.

In the public schools here, 32% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.3 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 1,006 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 28% on the prior year.

At a glance

Population
28,461
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$80,495
Top 37% nationally
Density
215/sq mi
132.1 sq mi of land
Median age
41.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Monroe
North Carolina
Metro area
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
Nearest major airport
CLT
32 mi · Charlotte/Douglas Intl
Median home value
$296,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.6% is lower than 83% of the 6,544 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment fell 0.8% over the past year, to 18,208 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$7,271$80,495Top 37%of 31,2952024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,254$33,703Bottom 40%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate10.9%Top 48%of 32,9702024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute32.6 minTop 26%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher22.0%Bottom 47%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Employment18,208Bottom 16%of 6,544June 2026
Employment change (3 years)2.5%Top 20%of 6,542June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.8%Bottom 49%of 6,544June 2026
Labor force18,896Bottom 16%of 6,544June 2026
Labor force participation64.0%Top 37%of 33,2522024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$68,900Top 44%of 6,0722025 OEWS
Median annual wage$49,990Bottom 46%of 6,0722025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.3%Bottom 31%of 6,544June 2026
Unemployment rate3.6%Bottom 17%of 6,544June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202480k61k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $80,495 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 — Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand40,540$38,850
Retail Salespersons35,150$33,580
Cashiers27,350$29,610
Fast Food and Counter Workers27,050$28,880
Registered Nurses27,010$90,620
Customer Service Representatives26,120$44,980

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 does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Monroe, NC, the city containing this ZIP code.

32% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 32% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.3 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
10
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.3
across all schools here
Math proficiency
31.7%
Bottom 40% in North Carolina
Reading proficiency
32.2%
Bottom 13% in North Carolina
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Monroe HighUnion County Public Schools1,21517.4
Parkwood HighUnion County Public Schools1,08216.9
Parkwood MiddleUnion County Public Schools87920.427%47%
Central Academy of Technology and ArtsUnion County Public Schools87515.9
Monroe MiddleUnion County Public Schools80217.823%30%
Walter Bickett ElementaryUnion County Public Schools44411.124%16%
East ElementaryUnion County Public Schools42311.824%22%
Rock Rest ElementaryUnion County Public Schools39410.969%31%
Prospect ElementaryUnion County Public Schools37313.340%35%
Wolfe SchoolUnion County Public Schools1097.3

71.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against North Carolina’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,155 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.7 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
17.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.7×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,155
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$296,900
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income3.69Top 35%of 30,4042024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate71.5%Bottom 32%of 32,9102024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±59910,907Top 15%of 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$57$1,155Top 38%of 26,6182024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$17,503$296,900Top 33%of 30,9412024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.2%Bottom 47%of 26,4702024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate6.3%Bottom 30%of 33,0282024 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
84/ 100
Top 2% of 5,428 published city profiles

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.

At 27.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas.

Units permitted
1,006
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
27.4
Top 1% nationally
Year over year
+28%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
27.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Monroe, NC, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 32°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 37.9 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 41, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MONROE AP, 9.7 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND3.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index54.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation37.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low32°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10002024 calendar year
Median air quality index41.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing37°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
41
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
54
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

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. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

37 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and hurricane.

Ice stormModerate
Inland floodingElevated
EarthquakeModerate
LightningModerate
HurricaneModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, strong wind, cold wave, winter weather, heat wave, drought, hail, wildfire, landslide.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Union County records 4.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 7.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 11.3 per 100,000 residents in Union County.

Homicide
4.0
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
7.0
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
11.3
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
8.6
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Union County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around 28112 rather than 28112 itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 32 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Charlotte/Douglas IntlCLT32 mi10,000 ft
Columbia MetroCAE73 mi8,601 ft
Piedmont Triad IntlGSO90 mi10,001 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
65
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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)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

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.

28112 vs Monroe

How this ZIP area compares with Monroe as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.

28112
Monroe
Median household income
$80,495
vs
$72,540
Per capita income
$33,703
vs
$31,089
Population density
215/sq mi
vs
1,142/sq mi
Median home value
$296,900
vs
$309,100
Median gross rent
$1,155
vs
$1,246
Homeownership rate
71.5%
vs
61.6%
Bachelor's degree or higher
22.0%
vs
24.1%
Poverty rate
10.9%
vs
13.3%
Median age
41.0
vs
35.5

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.