Work means La Crosse for more than half of French Island’s working residents
For 6% of workers, the job is at home, where Wisconsin as a whole has 13%. The trip to work takes 15 minutes on average, where Wisconsin has 22 and the U.S. 26. Employers in French Island report 1,146 jobs; 1,948 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in French Island: the figures worth knowing
More than half of French Island works in La Crosse
1,006 working residents, 52%, have their main job in La Crosse, 3 miles away across the town line. That’s 17 times as many as work in French Island itself. The commute map ↓
Most French Island residents work close to home
75% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. How far ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
54% of the jobs in French Island are in trade, transport and utilities, against 24% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Commutes from French Island are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 22 across Wisconsin. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Wisconsin worker. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in French Island pay over $40,000 a year
72% of the jobs based in French Island pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The places French Island commutes to
Where French Island clocks in
52% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Half of French Island commutes less than 4 miles
About 18% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Factories, building and farms: 31% of the jobs in French Island
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in French Island, 2014 → 2024: 959 → 1,146. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs French Island’s own residents hold wherever they work.
French Island’s commute takes about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of French Island workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,013 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
French Island by day and by night
On a workday 1,889 residents head out to work, 59 work right here, and 1,087 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in French Island on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.59 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
52% of French Island works in a town next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | French Island workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| French Island | – | — | — | 15 min | $60,202 |
| La Crosse | 52% | C+ | A+ | 16 min | $55,866 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to La Crosse. Darker towns draw more of French Island’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in French Island: questions
What is the median household income in French Island?
$60,202 (±$10,196) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in French Island?
13.7%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from French Island?
15 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in French Island work?
3% work in town.
Can you get around French Island without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from French Island, from the people who make the trip.
More of French Island
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.