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CityLedger

Monroe vs Shreveport

Metro-area medians — Monroe, LA Metro Area vs Shreveport-Bossier City, LA Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Monroe comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 7 clearly-decided measures.

Monroe and Shreveport are closely matched on both cost of living and household income. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches about as far in either.

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.

Monroe, LA
$59,439
take-home / yr · 21% to tax
$71,101
real value after local prices
Shreveport, LA
$59,439
take-home / yr · 21% to tax
$70,121
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Monroe leaves you about $981/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
Monroe
Shreveport
Livability (CityLedger)
32/100
28/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
83.6
84.8
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$67,548
$67,850
Median household income
$56,468
$57,514
Median rent
$928/mo
$990/mo
Median home value
$176,900
$195,300
Unemployment
4.7%
6.3%
Bachelor's degree or higher
25.7%
26.7%
Average commute
23.1 min
22.1 min
Air quality (median AQI)
41
51
Avg temperature
66°F
67°F

Choose Monroe for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Median rent
  • + Median home value
  • + Unemployment
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Monroe profile →

Choose Shreveport for

  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
  • + Average commute
Full Shreveport profile →

Monroe vs Shreveport — frequently asked

Is Monroe cheaper than Shreveport?
They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Monroe and Shreveport metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Monroe or Shreveport?
Household incomes are similar — $56,468 in the Monroe metro versus $57,514 in Shreveport (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).
Does a paycheck go further in Monroe or Shreveport?
It is roughly a wash. After adjusting income for local prices, a typical paycheck is worth about the same in both metros ($67,548 versus $67,850).
Which has cheaper rent, Monroe or Shreveport?
Monroe has cheaper rent — a median of $928/mo versus $990/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).