Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
La Crosse's standout: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 98% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades C−, 342nd of 357 graded towns in Wisconsin. It has 50 miles of trail. Its weakest subject is safety: its crime rate is higher than 89% of U.S. towns, with 216 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 95% of U.S. towns, with 42 places on the National Register. 54% of working residents work locally in La Crosse, against 8.2% in Wisconsin’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Gideon C. Hixon House and Mons Anderson House. Among 182 Wisconsin towns, just 3 have a higher property crime rate than La Crosse.
Where La Crosse beats most towns.
Its 42 National Register listings are more than in 98% of Wisconsin towns with a listing.
Census counts: 3,860 in 1860, 52,680 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1855 and 3 maps from 1963 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far La Crosse is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for safety (better than 11%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in La Crosse, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in La Crosse.
La Crosse is shaped by its college students and draws workers from Onalaska and beyond, but it has seen reported crime rise by a fifth or more.
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #9 of 362 in Wisconsin.
The trail density in La Crosse is 2.1 miles per square mile. Hixon Forest, at 549 acres with 14.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hixon Forest | 14.9 mi | 549 |
| 2. Upper Hixon Forest | 8.9 mi | 122 |
| 3. La Crosse Blufflands - Mathy Property | 6 mi | 475 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the La Crosse School District. Three of its 26 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longfellow MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 631 | C+ |
| Central HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 969 | C+ |
| School of Technology and Arts ITop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 104 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
44,511 jobs are based in La Crosse, 2.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 15.9 minutes, against 22.2 across Wisconsin.
21% of La Crosse residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in La Crosse grew to 44,511 in 2023, 2,389 more than in 2013. La Crosse’s median household income is $56,000.
| La Crosse | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes rose from 1,539 to 1,974 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Property crime runs at 34.7 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the Wisconsin rate, most of it theft.
La Crosse reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 89% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
21.8% of residents are enrolled in college, against 5.8% statewide, which pulls the median age down. Only 46.1% of households own their home, against 67.8% across Wisconsin.
Adults 18 to 34 are 41% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 27% of residents (38% statewide). 15% of residents are under 18 in La Crosse. Only 8 of the 362 Wisconsin towns we compare have a lower median age than La Crosse.
| La Crosse | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 30.5 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 15% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 32% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 20% | 18% |
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.1 points). Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 29.4, men 31.8.
| La Crosse | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.2% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.4% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 27% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.8% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.4% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.7% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.3% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.2% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.9% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.9% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 23% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.1% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.3% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.6% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 78% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 76 flood insurance claims have been paid out in La Crosse.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
La Crosse has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 9° and about 43 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical La Crosse home is worth about $282,000, up 4.4% in a year, 16% below the Wisconsin typical home. Only 8 of the 362 Wisconsin towns we compare have a lower share of households owning their home than La Crosse.
| La Crosse | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 46% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,010 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 47% | 39% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 7,684 U.S. towns with household incomes like La Crosse’s, it is healthier than 80%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
La Crosse beats the Wisconsin average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. No town among the 357 in Wisconsin we compare has a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than La Crosse.
| La Crosse | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 24% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 30% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | La Crosse | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.8% | 8.6% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 9.3% | 11.4% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 10% | 6.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
3 within 15 miles of the center of La Crosse
College town 22 of every 100 La Crosse residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
11.4% of the town is conserved land, across 51 parks and preserves.
42 places in La Crosse on the National Register of Historic Places.
54 notable people were born in La Crosse.
City and county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin
La Crosse ( lə-KROSS) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the most populous city on Wisconsin's western border. The population was 52,680 at the 2020 census. The La Crosse–Onalaska metropolitan area has an estimated 140,000 residents. La Crosse serves as a regional educational, medical, manufacturing, and transportation hub for Western Wisconsin producing a gross domestic product (GDP) of $10.1 billion for the La Crosse–Onalaska metropolitan area as of 2023. Home to the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, Viterbo University, and Western Technical College, the city has nearly 20,000 students. Th…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with La Crosse.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C−; Campbell (C) is closest.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Crosse | #342 | C− | C | D | C | B− |
| Shelby | #259 | B− | B− | — | C | B |
| Medary | — | — | C | — | C | B |
| Campbell | #319 | C | C+ | A− | C | C− |
| French Island | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Onalaska | #210 | B | C | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Onalaska | #183 | B+ | C | — | B+ | A− |
Medary has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Shelby, Medary and Onalaska report no FBI crime data of their own. French Island isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare La Crosse with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
La Crosse grades C− overall, better than 17% of U.S. towns and #342 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades B− for health, D for safety and C for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 3.8 years of the area's median household income ($73,340 across the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
54 notable people were born here, including Joseph Losey and Charles Dierkop.
