City · Ouachita Parish, Louisiana

West Monroe, Louisiana

West Monroe is a city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, part of the Monroe, LA metro area. It has 12,729 residents. West Monroe, Louisiana has a quality-of-life score of 6 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,660 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Louisiana it ranks #142 of 262 cities and towns. It ranks best on pharmacies (high), mental health providers (high) and natural hazard risk (low). It ranks worst on property crime rate (high), violent crime rate (high) and dental care shortage (high).

6Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,660 of 15,651 cities and towns
Louisiana: #142 of 262 in LA
Population: 12,729 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 1,586.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 2280955

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety1#15,409/15,637
Economy4#14,933/15,631
Housing32#10,204/14,977
Health9#14,184/15,609
Healthcare39#9,569/15,650
Environment48#8,085/15,453
Education12#13,791/15,649
Infrastructure9#14,276/15,650
Community13#13,627/15,651
Leisure & amenities51#7,736/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where West Monroe, Louisiana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Ouachita Parish value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Pharmacies · high3.5 /10k
98/100Louisiana 2.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsOuachita Parish value
Mental health providers · high568 /100k
92/100Louisiana 365 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOuachita Parish value
Natural hazard risk · low6.8
89/100Louisiana 71.72025Federal Emergency Management AgencyOuachita Parish value
Effective property tax rate · low0.51%
87/100Louisiana 0.55%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyOuachita Parish value
New business applications · high17.7 /1k
82/100Louisiana 16.4 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauOuachita Parish value

Weaknesses

Property crime rate · high3,241 /100k
1/100Louisiana 1,966 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationOuachita Parish value
Violent crime rate · high880 /100k
1/100Louisiana 515 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationOuachita Parish value
Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100Louisiana 13.9United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationOuachita Parish value
Child poverty rate · high36.0%
2/100Louisiana 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Broadband subscriptions · low79.4%
2/100Louisiana 86.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Poverty rate · high26.3%
4/100Louisiana 18.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
61.8% (2015-2019) → 79.4% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$34,454 (2015-2019) → $49,386 (2020-2024)
+43%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
53.3% (2015-2019) → 45.2% (2020-2024)
−8.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
28.7% (2015-2019) → 36.0% (2020-2024)
+7.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
31.0% (2015-2019) → 26.0% (2020-2024)
−5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Average commute timeWorsening
16.3 min (2015-2019) → 19.8 min (2020-2024)
+21%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, West Monroe, Louisiana improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 13 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Broadband+18 points61.8% → 79.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of West Monroe, Louisiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.3 min2015-2019	19.8 min2020-2024	+3.4 min	Within the margin of error	17%
Bachelor's degree or higher	21.1%2015-2019	22.0%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Broadband subscriptions	61.8%2015-2019	79.4%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	86%
Child poverty rate	28.7%2015-2019	36.0%2020-2024	+7.2 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Effective property tax rate	0.29%2015-2019	0.51%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	2%
High school diploma or higher	84.8%2015-2019	85.1%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Home price to income ratio	3.9×2015-2019	3.9×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	77%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5152015-2019	0.4642020-2024	−0.051	Within the margin of error	84%
Median household income	$34,4542015-2019	$49,3862020-2024	+43%	Within the margin of error	78%
Poverty rate	24.6%2015-2019	26.3%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Rent as share of income	31.0%2015-2019	26.0%2020-2024	−5 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Rent-burdened households	53.3%2015-2019	45.2%2020-2024	−8.1 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Unemployment rate	6.1%2015-2019	9.6%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.6%2015-2019	14.2%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	52%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like West Monroe, Louisiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of West Monroe, Louisiana in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, West Monroe, Louisiana itself moved +7.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

12,729 residents (±41)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

4,951 households (±363)

West Monroe, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Under $25k30%1,506
$25k–50k20%983
$50k–75k16%786

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

4,951 households (±363)

West Monroe, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Own45%2,214
Rent55%2,737

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

5,093 workers (±521)

West Monroe, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Drive alone82%4,161
Carpool4.7%†239
Public transit1.5%†

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Monroe, LA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Ouachita Parish, the county holding most of West Monroe's residents.

Ouachita Parish has 4,181 employer establishments, 264 for every 10,000 residents (1.06× the US rate of 248; 1.12× Louisiana's), with 59,407 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,059. The Census Bureau also counts 14,730 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 4,181; 14,730 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 264; US 248 · Louisiana 236
Paid employees: 59,407
Average annual pay: $47,059; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Ouachita Parish by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	512	32.4	1.55×More than typical	5,815	$54,036	766
Restaurants and other eating places	256	16.2	0.88×About typical	5,742	$18,711	71
Specialty trade contractors	238	15	0.97×About typical	2,455	$55,736	860
Lessors of real estate	197	12.5	1.01×About typical	550	$45,695	1,345
Offices of physicians	183	11.6	1.79×More than typical	1,852	$90,438	157
Legal services	150	9.5	1.76×More than typical	600	$48,578	125
Religious organizations	146	9.2	1.66×More than typical	1,522	$21,720	—
Offices of other health practitioners	136	8.6	1.42×More than typical	833	$38,158	305
Limited-service restaurants	131	8.3	1.03×About typical	3,224	$17,294	20
Building equipment contractors	106	6.7	1.11×About typical	1,490	$57,412	196
Services to buildings and dwellings	104	6.6	0.98×About typical	1,124	$31,557	1,461
Full-service restaurants	99	6.3	0.82×About typical	2,228	$20,821	25

Rank places for an industry Open Ouachita Parish

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 158,155 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $733.4K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in West Monroe, Louisiana: $57.61 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $733.4K; +7.9% vs FY2025
Per resident: $57.61; US $1,995
Sole-source: 3.1%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Internal Revenue Service$704.7K96%
Federal Prison Industries / Unicor$21.7K3.0%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$5,3980.7%
Federal Acquisition Service$1,3420.2%
Department of Veterans Affairs$2080.0%

Top recipients

COAST PROFESSIONAL, INC.$704.7K96%
SPI LLC$18.5K2.5%
GOLDMAN EQUIPMENT, L.L.C.$6,6720.9%
SPECIALTY DISTRIBUTION GROUP, LLC$3,1850.4%
KEVIN SCHWEINEFUS$1,3420.2%
WEST MONROE, CITY OF

Spending by fiscal year

138.5KFY2017
655KFY2018
104.6KFY2019
258.9KFY2020
281.5KFY2021
406KFY2022
787.7KFY2023
708.3K

Top industries (NAICS)

Activities related to credit intermediation · 5223$704.7K96%
Lumber and other construction materials merchant wholesalers · 4233$21.7K3.0%
Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment repair and maintenance · 8113$6,6720.9%
Automotive repair and maintenance · 8111$1,3420.2%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in West Monroe, Louisiana, so they do not add up across cities.

West Monroe, Louisiana's figures are part of those of Ouachita Parish, LA ($61M in FY2026), never added to them: 1.2% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: West Monroe is mostly in Ouachita Parish.

See federal money in Ouachita Parish

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

West Monroe, Louisiana is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Ouachita Parish20100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Monroe, LA12

Other cities and towns in Ouachita Parish

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2280955

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends