Monroe is a somewhat small coastal town (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Connecticut. With a population of 19,247 people and three constituent neighborhoods, Monroe is the 54th largest community in Connecticut.

Monroe is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 85.40% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Monroe is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Monroe who work in management occupations (18.59%), office and administrative support jobs (14.78%), and sales jobs (10.36%).

Also of interest is that Monroe has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

In addition, Monroe is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates." Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness.' But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.

Because of many things, Monroe is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Monroe really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Monroe perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic night life, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.

The town is also nautical, which means that parts of Monroe are somewhat historic and bounded by the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

In Monroe, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 31.19 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average.

For most residents of Monroe, getting to work requires a car. In fact, 97.4% of people in Monroe drive alone to work on most days, making Monroe a very car-oriented town. In general, car-oriented communities tend to emphasize streets, highways, and ease of parking, often to the detriment of walkability. Strip centers are a feature of Monroe's landscape.

Monroe Information and Demographics

The population of Monroe is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 14.96% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 41.28% of adults in Monroe have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Monroe in 2000 was $34,161, which is upper middle income relative to Connecticut, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $136,644 for a family of four. However, Monroe contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Monroe home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Monroe is White, followed by African-American. Important ancestries of people in Monroe include Italian, Irish, German, Polish, English, Hungarian, and Portuguese.

The most common language spoken in Monroe is English.