Photo: Michaelphayes · CC BY-SA 4.0Monroe’s household incomes are higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Monroe is better than 90% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (B+). Poverty touches 2.6% of residents; Connecticut has 10.0%. About one in ten stay in Monroe for work; outside it, Bridgeport is the main destination (8%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Monroe apart on work
Monroe workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 27 across Connecticut. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Monroe
75% of Monroe residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 57% of the jobs based in Monroe pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 90% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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.
Monroe’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
Household income holds Monroe’s grade up ($157,250, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Monroe could be anywhere from A− to A+.
How long Monroe spends getting to work: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Monroe workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,252 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Connecticut: 82% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Jobs in Monroe: what the 5,186 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Monroe, 2013 → 2023: 5,397 → 5,186. 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 Monroe’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Monroe quiets down on a workday
On a workday 8,101 residents head out to work, 878 work right here, and 4,308 people come in from elsewhere.
About 16,000 people are in Monroe on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.58 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Monroe: the destinations
Where Monroe clocks in
8% of workers
6% of workers
6% 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.
How far Monroe’s workers travel
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.
In Monroe, the car does most of the work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 9,757 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 7% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 7% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 51% 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). 2.8% of Monroe households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Monroe’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 14,000 to 26,000, Monroe ranks 340th of 1,760 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | North Haven CT | 24,799 | $133K | 4.1% | 2.0% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 56 | Berlin CT | 20,698 | $114K | 3.4% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 107 | Ellington CT | 16,594 | $130K | 2.4% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 338 | Safety Harbor FL | 16,624 | $107K | 6.1% | 3.2% | 9% | A |
| 339 | Iowa Colony TX | 20,503 | $144K | 4.3% | 4.9% | <1% | A |
| 340 | Monroe CT | 19,341 | $157K | 2.6% | 4.9% | 10% | A |
| 341 | Bellevue WI | 16,776 | $85K | 4.0% | 2.1% | 8% | A |
| 342 | Jefferson Township NJ | 20,703 | $120K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,760 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Monroe, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
Work next door: 10% of Monroe’s workers
The biggest share goes to Shelton (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Monroe workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe | – | A | B+ | 34 min | $157,250 |
| Newtown | under 5% | A | C | 34 min | $155,110 |
| Sandy Hook | under 5% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Easton | under 5% | A− | B | 33 min | $222,604 |
| Shelton | 5% | A− | B− | 30 min | $108,185 |
| Oxford | under 5% | A+ | C− | 30 min | $128,953 |
| Trumbull | 5% | A− | A− | 33 min | $163,073 |
| Tashua | under 5% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Daniels Farm | under 5% | — | — | 43 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Sandy Hook, Tashua and Daniels Farm: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Monroe’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 Monroe: questions
What is the median household income in Monroe?
$157,250 (±$12,323) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Monroe?
2.6%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Monroe?
34 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Monroe work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bridgeport (8%, 11 mi), New York City (6%, 60 mi), Stamford (6%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Monroe walkable?
Monroe is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Monroe without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 7% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Monroe, from the people who make the trip.
More of Monroe
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.