Photo: David Jordan · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Monrovia top those of 74% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Monrovia B+; getting around on foot earns it A. Below the poverty line: 10.3% of residents, next to 12.0% for California as a whole. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 17.5 in Los Angeles.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Monrovia in brief
Monrovia trades workers with the towns around it
Monrovia has about as many jobs (17,800) as working residents (16,946), but they are mostly different people: 15,585 residents leave for work each day while 16,439 people come in. Only 8% of the jobs in Monrovia are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Monrovia’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Monrovia is Los Angeles, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 23% of working residents (3,862) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Monrovia draws workers from far and wide
The 17,800 jobs in Monrovia are filled from a wide area. Monrovia’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 28%; the other 64% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Monrovia
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Monrovia is better than 71% of U.S. towns, #281 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Monrovia’s grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Monrovia could be anywhere from B to A.
How a workday changes Monrovia
On a workday 15,585 residents head out to work, 1,361 work right here, and 16,439 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.05 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The commute from Monrovia, by distance
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
23% of working residents work in Los Angeles
Where Monrovia clocks in
9% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The kinds of work in Monrovia
17,800 jobs are based in Monrovia.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Monrovia, 2013 → 2023: 17,499 → 17,800. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Monrovia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Monrovia’s commute takes about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Monrovia workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 15,252 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across California: 79% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Monrovia is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Monrovia is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #183 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 5.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 7.1% across California.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 18,610 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 70% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 38% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 82% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.7% of Monrovia households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Monrovia’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 27,000 to 52,000, Monrovia ranks 521st of 1,113 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 120 | Newark CA | 47,895 | $169K | 4.3% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 519 | Forney TX | 41,658 | $104K | 8.8% | 5.9% | 5% | B+ |
| 520 | Graham WA | 35,079 | $117K | 5.9% | 5.1% | 2% | B+ |
| 521 | Monrovia CA | 38,264 | $96K | 10.3% | 5.1% | 8% | B+ |
| 522 | Oakley CA | 47,583 | $138K | 6.1% | 6.3% | 6% | B+ |
| 523 | Marion IA | 42,732 | $87K | 8.1% | 3.6% | 15% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,113 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Monrovia, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Monrovia and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Arcadia (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Monrovia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monrovia | – | B+ | A | 30 min | $96,021 |
| Arcadia | 5% | A− | A | 29 min | $113,516 |
| Mayflower Village | under 2% | A− | A | 31 min | $105,242 |
| Bradbury | under 2% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| South Monrovia Island | under 2% | B+ | A | 26 min | $104,444 |
| Duarte | 3% | A− | A | 30 min | $105,483 |
| Irwindale | under 2% | A+ | A | 27 min | $114,167 |
Same-state neighbors only. Bradbury: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Monrovia’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Monrovia: questions
What is the median household income in Monrovia?
$96,021 (±$4,856) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Monrovia?
10.3%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Monrovia?
30 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Monrovia work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Los Angeles (23%, 26 mi), Pasadena (9%, 9 mi), Arcadia (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Monrovia walkable?
Monrovia is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.3 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Monrovia without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 38% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Monrovia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Monrovia
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.