Monroe: Your bills keep going up.
We are organizing concerned residents to educate their neighbors, improve public policy at the local level, and lessen our tax burden. Are you in?
Monroe's economic uncertainties by the numbers
Monroe's economic challenges are real and persistent. Here is the data behind the local failures.
Nearly one in five residents of the city of Monroe lives below the federal poverty line, 30% higher than the Michigan state average.
That is roughly how many Monroe County households are classified as ALICE — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. They work, but cannot consistently afford housing, food, childcare, transportation, and healthcare at the same time. This figure has held stubbornly high for over a decade.
The Monroe metro area recorded the largest payroll employment decline of any metro area in Michigan in December 2024, a 0.9% drop at a time when most of the state was adding jobs. Michigan's manufacturing sector, the backbone of our county's economy, fell at double the national rate over the same period.
The effective property tax rate on a city of Monroe home, above both the Michigan state median of 1.05% and the national median of 1.02%, paid by a city where the median household income is $59,813, well below the national median of $80,734.
What's Driving It
Policy Failures
A Tax Structure That Punishes Citizens
Michigan's property tax system ties annual taxable value increases to inflation, meaning that even in communities where incomes are stagnant and jobs are declining, homeowners still see their bills rise automatically each year. In 2025 the state set the inflation multiplier at 3.1%, guaranteeing tax increases for every Monroe County homeowner regardless of whether their financial situation improved. Communities already stretched thin absorb these increases without any corresponding relief mechanism.
A Decade of Wage Stagnation
The ALICE data for Monroe County shows that the share of households unable to cover basic needs was 32% in 2007 and 39% in 2021, a steady worsening across boom and recession alike. The cost of housing, childcare, food, transportation and healthcare grew far faster than wages over that period. State and local policymakers have not produced a credible plan to address this structural gap, leaving Monroe County families to manage an increasingly unaffordable daily reality on their own.
Michigan's Economy Is Falling Behind
Michigan's GDP grew just 2.2% in 2024, below the 2.7% national average. The state ranks 10th worst for job growth and 13th from the bottom in median household income nationally. For Monroe County, which recorded the steepest metro employment decline in the state in December 2024, the consequences of Michigan's economic underperformance are not abstract. They show up in shuttered businesses, shrinking paychecks, and a job market that offers fewer options every year.
We Need Leaders Like You
Communities like yours need leaders to change children's outcomes. They're protected by driven residents who show up, speak out, and take action.
Education
Learn how the local government functions, how to speak at community events and to board members directly.
Connection
Connect with a growing network of neighbors who share your concerns and are ready to stand together and demand change.
Action
Get practical tools to participate in school board and other city government meetings, submit public comments, and hold local officials accountable.
Support
Ongoing help from experienced community advocates who've successfully driven change across Monroe and other parts of Michigan.
Are You In?
Submit your information and our team will personally reach out to you.
We will never sell your or share your information.