City · Green County, Wisconsin

Monroe, Wisconsin

Monroe is a city in Green County, Wisconsin, part of the Madison, WI metro area. It has 10,587 residents. Monroe, Wisconsin has a quality-of-life score of 87 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,058 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Wisconsin it ranks #172 of 396 cities and towns. It ranks best on hospital quality rating (high), violent crime rate (low) and rent-burdened households (low). It ranks worst on new homes permitted (low), effective property tax rate (high) and public EV charging ports (low).

87Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,058 of 15,651 cities and towns
Wisconsin: #172 of 396 in WI
Population: 10,587 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 1,759.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 5553750

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety92#1,212/15,637
Economy49#7,991/15,631
Housing80#2,990/14,977
Health70#4,684/15,609
Healthcare72#4,338/15,650
Environment70#4,675/15,453
Education87#2,006/15,649
Infrastructure43#8,895/15,650
Community95#728/15,651
Leisure & amenities65#5,502/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Monroe, Wisconsin ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Green County 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

Hospital quality rating · high5.0
98/100Wisconsin 3.8United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesGreen County value
Violent crime rate · low51 /100k
98/100Wisconsin 240 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationGreen County value
Rent-burdened households · low33.4%
97/100Wisconsin 43.7%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Rent as share of income · low23.0%
97/100Wisconsin 27.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Loneliness · low30.3%
95/100Wisconsin 31.6%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Restaurants and bars · high14.2 /10k
94/100Wisconsin 12.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGreen County value

Weaknesses

New homes permitted · low0.0 /1k
13/100Wisconsin 4.4 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Effective property tax rate · high1.70%
14/100Wisconsin 1.32%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Public EV charging ports · low1.3 /10k
15/100Wisconsin 4.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyGreen County value
Broadband subscriptions · low86.4%
18/100Wisconsin 90.3%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Adult obesity · high40.3%
21/100Wisconsin 39.2%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
New business applications · low9.6 /1k
21/100Wisconsin 12.0 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauGreen County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
0.4 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
75.4% (2015-2019) → 86.4% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
19.5% (2015-2019) → 27.3% (2020-2024)
+7.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$50,537 (2015-2019) → $69,334 (2020-2024)
+37%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Average commute timeWorsening
15.2 min (2015-2019) → 18.3 min (2020-2024)
+20%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Child poverty rateWorsening
8.5% (2015-2019) → 11.5% (2020-2024)
+2.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Monroe, Wisconsin improved on 4 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 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.

Improved4

Property tax−0.6 points2.31% → 1.70%
Bachelor's++7.9 points19.5% → 27.3%
Household income+37%$50,537 → $69,334
Broadband+11 points75.4% → 86.4%

Declined1

Unemployment+2.7 points1.6% → 4.3%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Monroe, Wisconsin between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	15.2 min2015-2019	18.3 min2020-2024	+3.1 min	Within the margin of error	19%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.5%2015-2019	27.3%2020-2024	+7.9 points	Improved	83%
Broadband subscriptions	75.4%2015-2019	86.4%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	64%
Child poverty rate	8.5%2015-2019	11.5%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Effective property tax rate	2.31%2015-2019	1.70%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Improved	95%
High school diploma or higher	91.5%2015-2019	91.5%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	2.8×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	60%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4112015-2019	0.4072020-2024	−0.004	Within the margin of error	54%
Median household income	$50,5372015-2019	$69,3342020-2024	+37%	Improved	69%
Poverty rate	7.6%2015-2019	8.9%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Rent as share of income	22.7%2015-2019	23.0%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Rent-burdened households	31.9%2015-2019	33.4%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Unemployment rate	1.6%2015-2019	4.3%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Declined	11%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.1%2015-2019	5.5%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	54%

“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 Monroe, Wisconsin five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Monroe, Wisconsin 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, Monroe, Wisconsin itself moved +0.6 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

10,587 residents (±42)

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

5,157 households (±181)

Monroe, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Under $25k14%744
$25k–50k22%1,144
$50k–75k19%955

Homes

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

Owners and renters

5,157 households (±181)

Monroe, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Own63%3,252
Rent37%1,905

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

5,382 workers (±354)

Monroe, Wisconsin
Wisconsin share

Drive alone78%4,224
Carpool7.1%†384
Public transit0.0%0

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 Madison, WI

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 Green County, the county holding most of Monroe's residents.

Green County has 1,012 employer establishments, 273 for every 10,000 residents (1.10× the US rate of 248; 1.12× Wisconsin's), with 13,537 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,873. The Census Bureau also counts 2,616 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,012; 2,616 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 273; US 248 · Wisconsin 244
Paid employees: 13,537
Average annual pay: $49,873; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	89	24.1	1.55×More than typical	448	$73,083	228
Restaurants and other eating places	58	15.7	0.85×About typical	814	$17,853	10
Truck transportation	58	15.7	3.10×More than typical	277	$57,964	80
Ambulatory health care services	47	12.7	0.61×Fewer than typical	622	$73,667	81
Construction of buildings	39	10.5	1.39×More than typical	115	$52,591	141
Automotive repair and maintenance	36	9.7	1.93×More than typical	177	$47,045	65
Building equipment contractors	32	8.6	1.44×More than typical	268	$72,769	27
Lessors of real estate	29	7.8	0.64×Fewer than typical	49	$38,265	278
Services to buildings and dwellings	29	7.8	1.16×About typical	62	$33,452	137
Religious organizations	27	7.3	1.32×More than typical	154	$17,649	—
Food manufacturing	26	7	7.60×More than typical	1,910	$60,708	7
Full-service restaurants	26	7	0.91×About typical	304	$19,480	4

Rank places for an industry Open Green County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 37,002 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 $9,514 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Monroe, Wisconsin: $0.90 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $9,514; −10% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.90; US $1,994
Sole-source: 66%; US 30%
Single offer: 7.6%; 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

U.S. Coast Guard$6,98773%
Department of Veterans Affairs$2,52727%

Top recipients

AVIATION COMPONENT ENGINEERING LLC$6,98773%
COUNTY OF GREEN$2,52727%

Spending by fiscal year

6KFY2017
8.6KFY2018
3.9KFY2019
2.1KFY2020
2.6KFY2021
1.2KFY2022
4KFY2023
9.8KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Support activities for air transportation · 4881$6,98773%
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities) · 6231$2,52727%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 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 Monroe, Wisconsin, so they do not add up across cities.

Monroe, Wisconsin's figures are part of those of Green County, WI ($322.3K in FY2026), never added to them: 3.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Green County

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.

Monroe, Wisconsin is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Mark PocanD-WI-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 1.2%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

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

Green County95100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Madison, WI98

Other cities and towns in Green County

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/5553750

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends