Photo: Bohao Zhao · CC BY 3.0More crimes per resident are recorded in La Crosse than in 89% of U.S. towns
A Safety Grade of D follows from crimes La Crosse’s police reported over the years 2023 to 2025: #170 of 175 graded towns in Wisconsin. Police counts work out at 3.6 violent crimes and 33.1 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the rest of Wisconsin they are 3.6 and 14.7. What’s more, its two neighbors with figures both record less crime per resident. The graded rate rose 29% from 2023 to 2025.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of WI” is every other Wisconsin city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in La Crosse
2 of the 2 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 5 Wisconsin towns on La Crosse’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Campbell (A−), Onalaska (C+). Shelby, Medary and Onalaska (township) have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
A college town
La Crosse is home to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, with 9,769 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 22% of residents are enrolled in college (Census). Students who live in town count as residents, so they are part of the per-resident rate. How to read it ↓
A job center
La Crosse has 44,511 jobs based in town for 50,784 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Reported crime is rising
Crime reported per resident rose from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind La Crosse’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | La Crosse property | Rest of Wisconsin property | La Crosse violent | Rest of Wisconsin violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 31.0 | 18.0 | 3.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 27.6 | 15.8 | 2.7 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 37.1 | 15.1 | 3.9 | 3.8 |
| 2025 | 34.7 | 13.2 | 4.3 | 3.2 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident rose from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Wisconsin.
Crime in La Crosse per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 4 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | La Crosse | Rest of Wisconsin | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
La Crosse’s police reported 552 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 3.6 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.6 in the rest of Wisconsin and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
1,974 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
216 violent and 1,758 property, as reported to the FBI by La Crosse’s police.
Seven people died in crashes on La Crosse’s roads in 2019–2023
La Crosse had 7 fatal crashes in five years, in which seven people died.
That is about what is typical for Wisconsin towns of 25,000–100,000 people: at their median rate (3.7 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of La Crosse’s size would see about 9 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so La Crosse’s own rate (2.7) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
La Crosse and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Crosse | D | 3.6 | 33.1 |
| Shelby | — | — | — |
| Medary | — | — | — |
| Campbell | A− | 0.3 | 8.1 |
| Onalaska (city) | C+ | 0.6 | 22.4 |
| Onalaska (township) | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Shelby, Medary and Onalaska (township) have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
Wisconsin towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Crosse | D | 3.6 | 33.1 |
| Brookfield | B+ | 0.7 | 10.2 |
| Sheboygan | C | 3.8 | 12.4 |
| West Allis | C | 2.4 | 20.1 |
| Wauwatosa | C | 1.8 | 23.8 |
| Fond du Lac | C− | 3.7 | 18.3 |
The five graded Wisconsin towns closest to La Crosse’s population (50,784), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of La Crosse. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against La Crosse’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (50,663 in 2025); our figure for La Crosse is 50,784 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in La Crosse
Is La Crosse, WI safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, La Crosse reports more crime per resident than 89% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #170 of 175 in Wisconsin. Its police reported 3.6 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.6 in the rest of Wisconsin and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in La Crosse?
3.6 violent and 33.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Wisconsin reports 3.6 and 14.7; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in La Crosse in 2025?
La Crosse’s police reported 2 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 3.9 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is La Crosse safer than Campbell?
Campbell reports less crime per resident than La Crosse: Campbell grades A− for safety and La Crosse D. Campbell’s police reported 0.3 violent and 8.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices La Crosse?
La Crosse’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “La Crosse”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in La Crosse.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.