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CityLedger

Alexandria vs Monroe

Metro-area medians — Alexandria, LA Metro Area vs Monroe, LA Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Alexandria comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.

Alexandria and Monroe are closely matched on both cost of living and household income. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Monroe.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Alexandria, LA
$59,439
take-home / yr · 21% to tax
$69,368
real value after local prices
Monroe, LA
$59,439
take-home / yr · 21% to tax
$71,101
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Monroe leaves you about $1,733/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure
Alexandria
Monroe
Livability (CityLedger)
31/100
32/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
85.7
83.6
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$65,249
$67,548
Median household income
$55,909
$56,468
Median rent
$899/mo
$928/mo
Median home value
$165,800
$176,900
Unemployment
4.5%
4.7%
Bachelor's degree or higher
24.1%
25.7%
Average commute
22.3 min
23.1 min
Air quality (median AQI)
39
41
Avg temperature
67°F
66°F

Choose Alexandria for

  • + Median rent
  • + Median home value
  • + Unemployment
  • + Average commute
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Alexandria profile →

Choose Monroe for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
Full Monroe profile →

Alexandria vs Monroe — frequently asked

Is Alexandria cheaper than Monroe?
They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Alexandria and Monroe metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Alexandria or Monroe?
Household incomes are similar — $55,909 in the Alexandria metro versus $56,468 in Monroe (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).
Does a paycheck go further in Alexandria or Monroe?
A paycheck stretches further in Monroe. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $67,548 there versus $65,249 in Alexandria.
Which has cheaper rent, Alexandria or Monroe?
Alexandria has cheaper rent — a median of $899/mo versus $928/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).