Monroe, LA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Louisiana·Monroe

Ouachita Parish · Monroe · population 46,622

AffordabilityShrinking
Monroe, LA
Image: Wikipedia · Monroe, Louisiana
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
54
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Monroe stands

Population shrinking 0.6% per year. rents up 25.3% in the last year.

Median home $153,147
1-year -1.4%
5-yr CAGR +2.6%
vs 5-yr peak -2.6%
Population -0.6%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2025-02$153k$113k$130k$147k$163k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
22/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
68/100
Strong remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$1,265/mo$0$685$1,37120242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent1021448010012014020242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 10.1
Buy

At a 10.1 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Monroe on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 10.1 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
43 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
51 · w22%
Distance from peak
75 · w18%
Population growth
36 · w16%
Rent YoY
85 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
38 · w10%
Long thesis

Monroe has held up across the cycle: home values at $153,147 with +2.6% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Monroe's population is shrinking 0.6% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — if people are leaving, the buyer pool is shrinking faster than the inventory. That eventually shows up in price.

About Monroe

Monroe is a city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, with an estimated population of 46,622. The population has contracted 0.6% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Monroe is $153,147 as of 2026-04, down 1.4% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +2.6% annual growth (-2.6% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Monroe average $1,265 per month, up 25.3% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 54 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Held the highs: currently -2.6% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.
●Cheap entry point: $153,147 median home is well below the US median of $355k — room to grow without overpaying.
●Hot rental market: rents up 25.3% YoY — landlords have pricing power, supports new investment math.

▼ Bear case

●Flat or shrinking population: -0.6% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — verify the source.
●Rental squeeze: rents up 25.3% YoY — tenants face tough renewals. Affordability deteriorating fast.
●Stagnant long-run trend: +1.8% 10-year CAGR plus flat population — appreciation case is weak.

About Monroe (Wikipedia)

Monroe is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and is the parish seat and largest city of Ouachita Parish. With a 2020 census-tabulated population of 47,702, it is the principal city of the Monroe metropolitan statistical area, the second-largest metropolitan area in North Louisiana.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Ouachita Parish right now.

NWS active alerts (LA)Louisiana Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Ouachita Parish routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Monroe

7 tracked · ranked by median home value
1North Monroe$284,531+1.1%
2Midtown$240,298+0.2%
3Garden District$186,407-0.5%
4Lakeshore$154,874+2.3%
5University Area$143,512-3.1%
6Booker T Washington$49,499-1.1%
7South Riverfront$34,452-13.5%

Cities like Monroe

Baker, LA49 · StableWest Monroe, LA55 · StableBaton Rouge, LA54 · StablePineville, LA51 · Stable

Run the numbers for Monroe

ToolCan I afford Monroe?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Monroe rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Monroe to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolMonroe cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
61° / 43°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
91° / 74°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
217
~59% of year
Annual precip
60″ rain
0″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very high
Tornado
Moderate
Wildfire
Very low
Earthquake
Very low
Flood
Very high

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Monroe listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Monroe area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
75%
Very humid climate
Median household income
$57,800
Louisiana state median
Top industries (state-level)
Oil & GasTourismShipping/Petrochemicals

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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