Best PlacesWest Monroe, LA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Monroe, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West Monroe ranks 1,799th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Monroe
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
West Monroe's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Monroe ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 93% of cities
- QuietBetter than 93% of cities
- Cheap childcare$723 a month, better than 88% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 86% of cities
Where West Monroe ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than only 6% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 6% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in West Monroe
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Monroe home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,171, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses West Monroe's effective rate of 0.39%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Monroe
West Monroe's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Monroe.
Who works in West Monroe, and how
Work in West Monroe centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in West Monroe
West Monroe has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of cities and more parkland per resident than 89% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of West Monroe and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Monroe, month by month
West Monroe sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 47° | 39° |
| April | 78° | 66° | 56° |
| July | 94° | 83° | 74° |
| October | 82° | 68° | 57° |
Flying in and out of West Monroe
The nearest airport, Monroe Regional, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 207 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Monroe
Schools across West Monroe average a C+, better than 41% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Claiborne SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Sterlington Elementary SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Drew Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Ridge Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Sterlington Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Good Hope Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- West Ouachita High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- West Monroe High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Sterlington High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Monroe school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Monroe measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare West Monroe against the other 2,097 cities.
Who West Monroe suits
Common questions about living in West Monroe
Is West Monroe a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Monroe ranks 1,799th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on low property taxes, tree cover, and quiet, and lowest on state infrastructure and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Monroe expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $209,452. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $67,171 median income, cost of living beats 29% of cities.
Is West Monroe safe?
West Monroe is safer than 26% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $538 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in West Monroe?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 59 with lows near 39. That works out to about 80 pleasant days a year, more than 44% of cities.
Is West Monroe good for families?
Schools beat 41% of cities, crime safety beats 26%, and childcare runs $723 a month.
Compare West Monroe with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Monroe. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Monroe represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
West Monroe detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Monroe: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Monroe: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Monroe: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Monroe: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Monroe detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.