Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Monroe's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Monroe?
Your $100,000 in Monroe has the same purchasing power as $138,947 in the average US city. You'd need $38,947 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Monroe's cost index of 72, sorted by closest match.
Wondering whether you should move to Monroe? It depends on what you're optimizing for, but the city has real arguments in its favor: the cost-of-living math actually works and walkable in a way most us cities aren't, plus 2 more things worth knowing. The data behind each is below.
By the numbers, Monroe is one of the more affordable US cities of its size. The composite index sits at 72, about 28% below the national average, with housing as the main driver of the discount. Median rent in town runs about $790/mo against a typical household income of $36,550, which is the kind of ratio that leaves room to save.
Monroe earns a Walk Score of 56/100 — above the US median, with denser neighborhoods scoring higher than the citywide aggregate suggests. A car is still useful for longer trips, but everyday life works on foot for a lot of residents.
Monroe's air quality index averages about 43 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Monroe is about 18 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from Monroe's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Now and then. Monroe's winters are cool rather than truly cold — about 39°F on average — so most of the precipitation falls as rain. A snowy morning happens a few times a season; sustained accumulation is rare.
Mild on the cold side. Monroe's winter average of about 39°F is the kind of weather where you want a jacket but the heating bill is manageable. Snow is rare, frost is occasional, and the lawn never really browns out.
Genuinely hot. Summer in Monroe averages about 93°F, and peak afternoons run well over a hundred. Outdoor plans move to mornings and evenings; AC is the most-used appliance in the house.
Monroe falls in roughly USDA Zone 9. The zone classification is based on average annual minimum temperatures, so it's the right lookup for whether perennials and trees will overwinter here. Note that this is approximate from our winter-temperature data — check the USDA map for the exact zone before betting an expensive plant on it.
Monroe sits at about 118 feet (36 m) above sea level — low-lying, but with enough cushion that day-to-day life isn't affected by ocean levels.
Hurricane season covers June through November, with peak activity in late summer and early fall. For Monroe, the practical advice is: have a few days of water and supplies on hand from August onward, know your evacuation route, and don't wait for the news to tell you a storm is "probably nothing" — track the cone yourself.
The citywide numbers are concerning — about 9,497 per 100,000 residents, well above the US average of around 3,500. As with all crime stats, the city aggregate hides huge variation between neighborhoods, but the overall picture is worse than most US cities.
No — your dollar actually goes further here. Monroe's composite cost-of-living index is 72, roughly 28% under the US average. Housing is usually the biggest driver of the discount.
Somewhat. Monroe earns a Walk Score of 56/100 — many daily errands are doable on foot, especially in the denser neighborhoods, but a car still helps for longer trips.
Roughly $50,379 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Monroe runs about $790/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.