The book's checklist
- Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.2% below the U.S. average in the La Crosse-Onalaska metro area.
- More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
- A safer neighborhood216 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 34.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
- Schools in town18 public schools: 11 elementary, 3 middle, 3 high schools and 1 other.
- A hospital close byMayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Medical Center INC is in town and has an emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityMinneapolis is about 128 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.
A check means La Crosse meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.
What kind of town
College town. About 1 in 5 residents is a college student, with University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Viterbo University in town. Concerts, sports and good food all year, and a big employer that rarely closes. Expect higher home prices close to campus.
The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.
For a lifetime
Homes and money
- Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
- $210,100U.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 20%La Crosse County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $1,010 a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $55,866U.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 46%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $3,854 a yearWisconsin: $3,792
- Homes built before 1940
- 26%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 8%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 1%U.S.: 3%
- Everyday prices
- 91.8U.S. average = 100 (the La Crosse-Onalaska metro area)
Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the La Crosse-Onalaska metro area, not La Crosse alone. Check current listings before you budget.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
The people
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 50,7842020: 52,680
- Median age
- 30.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 17%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 15%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 35%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 14%U.S.: 6%
- College students
- 22%share of all residents
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Work
- Biggest lines of work
- Schools, health care and social services (29%); retail (14%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (13%)
- Unemployment rate
- 4%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 16 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 12%U.S.: 15%
- Below the poverty line
- 21%U.S.: 12%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Health care
Nearest emergency room: Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Medical Center INC, La Crosse, WI, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 of 5 stars.
Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.
Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.
Schools
18 public schools in La Crosse, run by La Crosse School District.
Colleges in or next to town: University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (10,000 to 19,999 students); Western Technical College (1,000 to 4,999 students); Viterbo University (1,000 to 4,999 students).
See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Wisconsin's school report card.
Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.
Internet
- Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
- 75%U.S.: 76%
- Homes with any internet subscription
- 89%U.S.: 91%
Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Weather
- January average low
- 10°F
- July average high
- 85°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 18 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 141 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 37.3 inches a year
- Snow
- 43 inches a year
- Elevation
- 636 feet
Weather stations: La Crosse Muni Ap (4 miles away) and La Crosse 4NNW (4 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.
Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.
Getting around
Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Rochester, Minneapolis.
La Crosse County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).
For a day
41 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the 10th and Cass Streets Neighborhood Historic District, the 23rd and 24th Streets Historic District, the Caledonia Street Commercial Historic District and the Cass and King Street Residential Historic District.
National Park Service sites within about an hour:
- Effigy Mounds National Monument49 miles
Campus life. Check University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.
Read about La Crosse's history on Wikipedia.
Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.
Nearby
Straight-line miles.
Small towns
- French Island, WI4,200 people, 3 miles
- La Crescent, MN5,300 people, 4 miles
- West Salem, WI5,300 people, 9 miles
- Holmen, WI12,100 people, 10 miles
- Bangor, WI1,600 people, 12 miles
- Trempealeau, WI1,900 people, 16 miles
Smaller places
- Dresbach, MN (unincorporated)286 people, 7 miles
- Hokah, MN536 people, 8 miles
- Brice Prairie, WI (unincorporated)1,782 people, 9 miles
- Dakota, MN288 people, 9 miles
- Brownsville, MN545 people, 9 miles
- St. Joseph, WI (unincorporated)548 people, 9 miles
- Stoddard, WI911 people, 11 miles
- Chaseburg, WI240 people, 13 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
- Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
- National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas
Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.