Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0Measured against area pay, Monrovia costs less to live in than 56% of U.S. towns
About the same as a year ago, 18% above the Indiana typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN metro area ($80K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across the Indianapolis metro earn ($80K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 2.9 years of metro income, and 14% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $304Ktypical home, 18% above the Indiana typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,120a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 96prices across the Indianapolis metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 89)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 2.9 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$80K, Indianapolis-area income
- 21%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 28%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Monrovia, in brief
Mostly newer homes
Half of Monrovia’s homes were built after 2007, against 1976 for Indiana as a whole. Property taxes ↓
Building at 4 times the Indiana pace
Builders were permitted 48 new homes in 2025: 23 per 1,000 residents, against 6 across Indiana. That’s 445 in the past 10 years. New homes ↓
Nearly every household owns
89% of Monrovia households own their home, against 71% across Indiana. There are only 59 renter households, so rentals are scarce. Property taxes ↓
2026 has already passed 2025
Through August, Monrovia had permitted 62 new homes in 2026, more than the 48 in all of 2025. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for May 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Monrovia’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Monrovia is more affordable than 56% of U.S. towns. Rent pulls the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Prices here have kept pace with Indiana: up 23.7% in five years, against 28.7% statewide (Zillow).
Up 23.7% in five years
Slower than Indiana (28.7%).
Show as a table
| January | Monrovia | Indiana |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $161,000 | $133,000 |
| 2018 | $171,000 | $142,000 |
| 2019 | $182,000 | $152,000 |
| 2020 | $188,000 | $162,000 |
| 2021 | $218,000 | $180,000 |
| 2022 | $256,000 | $207,000 |
| 2023 | $276,000 | $224,000 |
| 2024 | $285,000 | $234,000 |
| 2025 | $300,000 | $246,000 |
| 2026 | $305,000 | $253,000 |
| September 2026 | $304,000 | $257,000 |
A typical Monrovia home worth $160K in September 2016 is worth about $304K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 8 homes sold in May 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A year’s rent takes 21% of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Monrovia’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Monrovia home, with $26K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,120 a month here, $600 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Monrovia’s typical property tax (0.51% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,120
Renters already here pay a median of $1,385.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Indianapolis-Carmel, IN HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
48 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 48 new homes in Monrovia in 2025: 44 single-family houses and 4 in buildings with two or more homes, worth about $15.7 million to build. That's 23 per 1,000 residents, faster than across Indiana (6). Over the past 10 years, Monrovia has permitted 445 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Monrovia gained 580 residents while 245 new homes were permitted: about 2.4 new residents per new home, more than across Indiana (1.7): growth outpaced building.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 62 | 62 | 0 | $19.4 million |
| 2025 | 48 | 44 | 4 | $15.7 million |
| 2024 | 57 | 57 | 0 | $18.1 million |
| 2023 | 44 | 44 | 0 | $13.7 million |
| 2022 | 91 | 91 | 0 | $22.6 million |
| 2021 | 95 | 95 | 0 | $24.2 million |
| 2020 | 15 | 15 | 0 | $3.9 million |
| 2019 | 68 | 68 | 0 | $12.3 million |
| 2018 | 17 | 17 | 0 | $3.3 million |
| 2017 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $4 million |
| 2016 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $575,000 |
| 2015 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| 2014 | 30 | 30 | 0 | $4 million |
| 2013 | 25 | 25 | 0 | $2.9 million |
| 2012 | 38 | 38 | 0 | $4.6 million |
| 2011 | 28 | 28 | 0 | $3.7 million |
| 2010 | 22 | 22 | 0 | $3.2 million |
| 2009 | 11 | 11 | 0 | $1.7 million |
| 2008 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $1.6 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs below the Indiana norm
The median bill is $1,190 (Indiana: $1,614), 0.51% of a home’s value a year, against 0.74% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Monrovia
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN metro area, or Indiana. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 96 | IN 93 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 94 | IN 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 86 | IN 86 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 99 | IN 99 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Monrovia and its neighbors
One source per column.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monrovia | B | $304K | $233K | 0.51% | $1,120 |
Questions about the cost of living in Monrovia
Is Monrovia expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Monrovia costs less than 56% of U.S. towns: a B for cost of living. The typical home costs 2.9 years of the median household income of the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN metro area ($80K).
How much does a house cost in Monrovia?
About $304K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 0.3% in a year. The Indiana typical home is $257K.
What salary do you need to live in Monrovia?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $74,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $1,720 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $45,000.
How much is rent in Monrovia?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,120 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,385 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Monrovia?
The median bill is $1,190 a year, 0.51% of the median home value (Indiana: $1,614, 0.74%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Monrovia going up?
Barely: up 0.3% in the past year and 23.7% in five years, against 28.7% across Indiana (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Monrovia buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.