Counties / Indiana / Monroe County

Monroe County, IN

FIPS 18105 · population 140,965 · part of Bloomington, IN

$319k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$319k
▲ 1.7% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
Median asking rent
$1,443
▲ 2.6% year over year
Zillow ZORI · direct
Gross yield
5.4%
annual rent ÷ price, before costs
derived: rent × 12 ÷ price ✓
HUD 2-bed standard
$1,210
market rent is 1.19x the standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+44.4%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+1.7%FHFA HPI2025+2.4%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$285k
Surveyed gross rent$1,193
Rent burden 30%+60.7%
Median year built1986
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
9.8%vacant
65,657estimated housing units
Occupied tenure46.0% renter
owner 54.0%renter 46.0%
Structure mix59.2% single-family
Single-family 59.2%20+ units 10.8%Mobile home 4.7%Other 25.4%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs67,799▲ 0.9% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments3,568annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$1,180▲ 4.2% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorEducation and health services23.6% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS+0.9%WEEKLY WAGE+4.2%Education and health services23.6%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Monroe County’s decision tension is a measurable rent-to-value case alongside a less accommodating listing market and negative mover balance. In the 2026-06 Zillow county observation, the $319,265 median home value and published market asking rent support a stated 5.42% gross yield before expenses. Income-property underwriters should investigate asset-level expense coverage; buyers dependent on quick resale should be cautious. County aggregates do not establish building, neighborhood, or renter-segment performance.

02Housing economics

Market asking rent is the measured rent in the yield calculation. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR of $1,210 is a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate; it cannot replace measured rent or generate a different yield. Separately, FHFA’s repeat-transaction HPI rose 2.35% in 2025, showing positive index change but neither providing a home value nor matching the Zillow county observation. The 0.71% effective property-tax rate makes tax assessment and exemptions a carrying-cost check because gross yield excludes costs.

03Demand & competition

Realtor.com’s 2026-06 MLS listing-market evidence calls for more negotiating scrutiny: median listing price was down 5.40% year over year and 540 listings were active. These are asking-price and visible-supply measures, not closed sales or standalone proof of buyer demand; the published price-reduced share and days on market are seller-concession and marketing-time checks. Tax-return migration was net -887 households, while average income of movers in was $3,385 below movers out. This combination requires local tenant and purchaser-depth verification, not a demand conclusion. Investors accounted for 122 of 1,246 purchase mortgages, or 9.79%, a defined non-owner competition channel rather than all purchases. QCEW is annual covered employment at county workplaces, not resident employment or a forecast; Education and health services is the largest disclosed private supersector.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled climate loss equals 0.10% of building value per year; it is a modeled ratio, not a property-specific insurance bill or realized loss. Flood-zone status, elevation, insurance quotes, condition, operating expenses, vacancy, lease renewals, debt terms, and closed-sale comparables are not published. Their absence prevents defensible conclusions on net cash flow, hazard cost, tenant durability, and resale liquidity. Verify them at parcel and submarket level before treating county yield or listing signals as asset underwriting.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Monroe County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Bloomington city80KEllettsville town6.7KSmithville-Sanders CDP3.3KStanford CDP472Harrodsburg CDP298Stinesville town297
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

6 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Bloomington cityIncorporated place
    80,049
  2. 02
    Ellettsville townIncorporated place
    6,698
  3. 03
    Smithville-Sanders CDPCensus-designated place
    3,299
  4. 04
    Stanford CDPCensus-designated place
    472
  5. 05
    Harrodsburg CDPCensus-designated place
    298
  6. 06
    Stinesville townIncorporated place
    297

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.098% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax0.71%

$2,036 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration-887

4,163 in · 5,050 out

Arriving vs leaving income−$3,385

$53,367 arriving · $56,752 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors9.8%

122 of 1,246 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings540▲ 11.1% year over year
Median days on market56▲ 6.7% year over year
Listings price-reduced25.6%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▼ 5.4% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

Same metro

The other counties in Bloomington, IN

A metro is an average of these. Which side of a county line a property sits on can change the tax bill, the hazard profile and the tenant pool.

CountyPopulationPriceRentYieldHazard
Monroe County140,965$319k$1,4435.4%inland flooding
Owen County21,604$240kn/an/ainland flooding
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. The countywide asking-rent measure may not be achievable for the asset’s unit mix or condition.
  2. MLS listings may not translate into closing-price liquidity or resale execution in the selected submarket.
  3. Parcel flood exposure, insurance, maintenance, and vacancy could overwhelm gross-yield economics.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can HUD’s two-bedroom FMR be used as Monroe County asking rent?

No. It is a HUD payment standard; the record separately publishes market asking rent.

What does the stated gross yield exclude?

It represents annual market rent before costs, so property taxes and other operating costs are outside the measure.

Does QCEW show resident employment?

No. It reports annual covered employment at workplaces located in the county, not resident employment or a forecast.