Measured against area pay, Monticello costs more to live in than 54% of U.S. towns
It ranks #102 of 161 in Louisiana for affordability.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Baton Rouge, LA metro area ($70K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across the Baton Rouge metro earn ($70K, Census 2020–24). Even so, the typical home costs 2.5 years of metro income, and 100% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $1,150a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 91prices across the Baton Rouge metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 74)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 2.5 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$70K, Baton Rouge-area income
- 22%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 100%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Louisiana: 55%Census 2020–24
- 32%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Monticello, in brief
Owning can cost less than renting
With 20% down at the calculator’s rate, the typical Monticello home runs about $970 a month with tax and insurance. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,150. Can I afford it? ↓
Few homes for sale, but they don’t sell fast
With about 0.5 months of supply (Louisiana: 3.2), the market counts as tight. Yet the typical home took 174 days to sell, against 55 statewide, and sold at 98% of asking. Tight supply here hasn’t meant quick sales. How fast homes sell ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Monticello, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; sales and supply are Redfin’s for May 2026; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Monticello’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Monticello is more affordable than 46% of U.S. towns, #102 of 161 in Louisiana. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Home prices up 13% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP code around Monticello rose 13% over the past 5 years, slower than across Louisiana (22%). Last year prices fell 17%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Monticello home at roughly $171,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $171K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Monticello, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
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 typical home costs 2.5 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Monticello’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Monticello home, with $116K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,150 a month here, $180 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Monticello’s typical property tax (0.54% 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 $1,150
Renters already here pay a median of $1,284.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Baton Rouge, LA 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.
Property tax runs below the Louisiana norm
The median bill is $944 (Louisiana: $1,180), 0.54% of a home’s value a year, against 0.55% 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 Monticello
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Baton Rouge, LA metro area, or Louisiana. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 91 | LA 88 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 94 | LA 94 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 71 | LA 71 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 96 | LA 96 | 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.
Monticello vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Monticello. Central has no Zillow value, so it is in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monticello | B− | — | $176K | 0.54% | $1,150 |
| Baton Rouge | C+ | $228K | $235K | 0.62% | $1,190 |
| Central | C | — | $289K | 0.65% | $1,470 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Monticello
Is Monticello expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Monticello costs more than 54% of U.S. towns: a B− for cost of living, #102 of 161 in Louisiana. The typical home costs 2.5 years of the median household income of the Baton Rouge, LA metro area ($70K).
How much is rent in Monticello?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,150 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,284 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Monticello?
The median bill is $944 a year, 0.54% of the median home value (Louisiana: $1,180, 0.55%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Monticello buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. 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.