Photo: TheLionHasSeen · CC BY-SA 4.0Monroe reports more crime per resident than almost every U.S. town
On crimes reported to the FBI by Monroe’s police in 2023–2025, it grades D− for safety.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of LA” is every other Louisiana city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Monroe
1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 3 Louisiana towns on Monroe’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: West Monroe (D−). Lakeshore is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Richwood has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
A college town
Monroe is home to the University of Louisiana at Monroe, with 6,536 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 8% of residents are enrolled in college (Census). Students who live in town count as residents, so they are part of the per-resident rate. How to read it ↓
A job center
Monroe has 37,931 jobs based in town for 46,860 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Monroe’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Monroe’s police reported 2,611 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 18.8 per 1,000 residents a year, against 8.5 in the rest of Louisiana and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Show as a table
| Year | Monroe | Rest of Louisiana | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 27.4 | 9.5 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 21.0 | 9.0 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 18.9 | 8.4 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 16.3 | 7.8 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Reported crime is falling
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Louisiana.
Show as a table
| Year | Monroe property | Rest of Louisiana property | Monroe violent | Rest of Louisiana violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 67.2 | 41.9 | 27.4 | 9.5 |
| 2023 | 60.5 | 42.7 | 21.0 | 9.0 |
| 2024 | 57.3 | 33.5 | 18.9 | 8.4 |
| 2025 | 51.7 | 28.7 | 16.3 | 7.8 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 52 property crimes reported
And about 16 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
3,155 crimes reported in 2025
758 violent and 2,397 property, as reported to the FBI by Monroe’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
43 people died in crashes on Monroe’s roads in 2019–2023
Monroe had 42 fatal crashes in five years, in which 43 people died; 18 were pedestrians and 2 were cyclists. 8 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 18.3 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Louisiana towns of 25,000–100,000 people (11.3, 11 towns).
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Monroe and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe | D− | 18.8 | 56.5 |
| Lakeshore | — | — | — |
| Richwood | — | — | — |
| West Monroe | D− | 11.9 | 57.1 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Lakeshore is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Richwood has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025.
Louisiana towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe | D− | 18.8 | 56.5 |
| Slidell | C− | 2.8 | 24.0 |
| Kenner | C− | 3.2 | 26.9 |
| Lake Charles | D | 6.4 | 26.0 |
| Bossier City | D− | 8.4 | 38.4 |
| Alexandria | D− | 23.8 | 62.6 |
The five graded Louisiana towns closest to Monroe’s population (46,860), by grade.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Monroe. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Monroe’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (46,376 in 2025); our figure for Monroe is 46,860 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Monroe
Is Monroe, LA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Monroe reports more crime per resident than 100% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade. Its police reported 18.8 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 8.5 in the rest of Louisiana and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Monroe?
18.8 violent and 56.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Louisiana reports 8.5 and 36.0; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Monroe?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Monroe in 2025?
Monroe’s police reported 10 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 21.6 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Monroe safer than West Monroe?
West Monroe reports less crime per resident than Monroe: West Monroe grades D− for safety and Monroe D−. West Monroe’s police reported 11.9 violent and 57.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Monroe?
Monroe’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Monroe”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Monroe.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.