Photo: SounderBruce · CC BY-SA 4.0Monroe has higher household incomes than 84% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 94.7 in Seattle. 7.3% of residents are in poverty, where Washington as a whole has 9.9%. Monroe grades B+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Monroe apart
Monroe’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Monroe is Seattle, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (1,344) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Monroe draws workers from far and wide
The 7,390 jobs in Monroe are filled from a wide area. Monroe’s own residents hold 14% and the ten next-biggest home towns 29%; the other 57% 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.
Inside Monroe’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Monroe is better than 69% of U.S. towns, #116 of 285 in Washington. Household income holds Monroe’s grade up ($110,461, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.7%, 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 B to A.
Half of Monroe commutes less than 16 miles
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.
15% of working residents work in Seattle
Where Monroe clocks in
15% of workers
8% 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.
Monroe on a workday afternoon
On a workday 8,171 residents head out to work, 1,024 work right here, and 6,366 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 (0.80 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.
Goods, not services: 34% of the jobs in Monroe
7,390 jobs are based in Monroe.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Monroe, 2013 → 2023: 6,969 → 7,390. 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.
The daily trip from Monroe: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Monroe workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,133 commuters (the 20% who work from home are left out). Across Washington: 79% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Monroe
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Monroe is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns, #111 of 285 in Washington. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.9% across Washington.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,961 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 75% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 49% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.5 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). 3.6% of Monroe households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Monroe’s commuters take a bus or train.
868th of 1,860: where Monroe ranks among U.S. towns of 14,000 to 27,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Mercer Island WA | 25,422 | $219K | 3.8% | 3.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Bothell West WA | 22,029 | $153K | 3.0% | 2.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 81 | Bothell East WA | 14,578 | $199K | 3.6% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 866 | Lincoln RI | 23,713 | $105K | 7.4% | 7.3% | 13% | B+ |
| 867 | Cherry Hill VA | 26,044 | $122K | 8.6% | 6.7% | 1% | B+ |
| 868 | Monroe WA | 20,025 | $110K | 7.3% | 5.7% | 11% | B+ |
| 869 | Exeter Township PA | 26,069 | $100K | 7.6% | 5.5% | 8% | B+ |
| 870 | Richland Township PA | 14,311 | $99K | 5.0% | 7.9% | 6% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,860 | 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 Washington.
The towns around Monroe
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Monroe workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe | – | B+ | A− | 31 min | $110,461 |
| Monroe North | under 2% | A+ | A− | 33 min | $169,844 |
| Woods Creek | under 2% | B | B− | 40 min | $156,950 |
| Chain Lake | under 2% | A | C+ | 38 min | $161,286 |
Same-state neighbors only. 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?
$110,461 (±$6,509) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Monroe?
7.3%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Monroe?
31 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Monroe work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (15%, 24 mi), Redmond (9%, 14 mi), Everett (8%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Monroe walkable?
Monroe is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Monroe without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 49% 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.