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West Salem, Wisconsin

West Salem is a small town of about 5,300 people in La Crosse County, Wisconsin. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.9 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Minneapolis, is about 130 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
5,288
down 0.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$277,100
La Crosse County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$97,019
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, La Crosse area
91.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
La Crosse, WI
To Minneapolis
130 mi
straight line

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 2.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood4 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Medical Center INC in La Crosse, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMinneapolis is about 130 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 West Salem 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$277,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%La Crosse County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,283 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$97,019U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
78%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,568 a yearWisconsin: $3,792
Homes built before 1940
7%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
9%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%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 West Salem 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
5,2882020: 5,332
Median age
40.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
28%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
46%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%

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 (43%); manufacturing (11%); professional and business services (7%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
9%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, about 10 miles away. 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

3 public schools in West Salem, run by West Salem School District.

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
82%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
95%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
35.2 inches a year
Snow
46 inches a year
Elevation
744 feet

Weather station: La Crosse Muni Ap (8 miles away). 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: Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Medical Center INC, La Crosse, 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

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Hamlin Garland House. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Effigy Mounds National Monument55 miles

Read about West Salem's history on Wikipedia.

Know West Salem?

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

Smaller places

  • St. Joseph, WI (unincorporated)548 people, 8 miles
  • Mindoro, WI (unincorporated)225 people, 8 miles
  • Rockland, WI754 people, 9 miles
  • Brice Prairie, WI (unincorporated)1,782 people, 11 miles
  • Dresbach, MN (unincorporated)286 people, 13 miles
  • Dakota, MN288 people, 14 miles
  • Coon Valley, WI760 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. 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.