county

Monroe County, IA

Demographic and economic profile of Monroe County, IA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Monroe County is a small rural Iowa county of 7,546 residents with an economy generating $65,133 in GDP per capita against median worker earnings of $48,267, suggesting relatively capital-efficient output for its size. The labor pool is modest, with a 61.7% participation rate, 20.0% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 2.9%. Housing costs are low—median home value of $135,900 and median gross rent of $787/month—alongside an 83.8% homeownership rate, though the county has contracted by 4.0% in population over the past five years.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

7,546

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$70,996

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-4.0% since 2018

Monroe County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone7,146 (95.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races139 (1.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone90 (1.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race72 (1.0%)
  • Asian Alone35 (0.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone17 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic63
  2. 2.Spanish45
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island33
  4. 4.Vietnamese27

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

275

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$65,133

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$35,430

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

2.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

9.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance902
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)685
  3. 3.Construction (Group)338
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)305
  5. 5.Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing291

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,292
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations739
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations627
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations495
  5. 5.Service Occupations374

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 2.40×)868
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.15×)125
  3. 3.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 1.19×)289
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.11×)949
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 0.97×)207

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$135,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$787/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

81.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999336 (13.4%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999283 (11.3%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999258 (10.3%)
  • $500,000 to $749,999174 (6.9%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999163 (6.5%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999159 (6.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

20.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

94.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

61.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$48,267

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

29.4 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone2,774 (78.4%)
  • Carpooled346 (9.8%)
  • Worked At Home319 (9.0%)
  • Walked73 (2.1%)
  • Other13 (0.4%)
  • Bicycle10 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.