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Town Hall · La Crosse

How is La Crosse run?

La Crosse’s city government spent $82.1 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, about $1,598 per resident. Water and other utilities ($12.1 million) and the airport ($4.8 million) are counted separately.

Town website
Next public meeting

Judiciary & Administration Committee

6:00 pm · Council Chambers, City Hall, First Floor

All meetings →
Day-to-day spending, 2024
$82.1M
year to December 31, 2024
Per resident, 2024
$1,598
In 2022: $1,408, more than 61% of 31 similar cities
Long-term debt
$257.2M
end of 2024, reported
City staff, 2025
584
full-time · 213 part-time · March payroll $3.7M
Typical tax bill
$3,854
1.83% of home value · WI 1.42%

What stands out about how La Crosse is run

Read from the city’s budget, meetings and official records.

Agendas posted online3 upcoming meetings posted, with agendas.Runs its own water & sewer21% of day-to-day spending goes to water, sewer and trash (2024).A shared school districtShares La Crosse School District with 5 other towns.Split between districts3 Assembly districts cover La Crosse; your street decides yours.
★ What stands out · Meetings

3 upcoming meetings at town hall

From La Crosse’s own agenda portal, checked daily. Agendas can change up to the meeting, so check before you go.

Recent meetings

Go in person

Most meetings are open to the public, and many have a public comment period at the start.

Agenda portal ↗
Your share of the 2024 budget

About $1,598 per resident a year, or $4.38 a day

Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: parks & libraries, at 23%.

Where the money comes from
Property taxes 33%Fees & charges 19%From the state 17%Interest, fines & other 11%From the federal government 8%Utility sales 4%From other local governments 4%Sales taxes 3%Other taxes & licenses 2%
Not in the receipt.Building projects $38.1 million; interest on debt $4.4 million. With these and the enterprises, the whole budget was $144.8 million.
Compared with similar places

$1,408 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities

La Crosse’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($1,408 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 31 Wisconsin cities of 50,000–99,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $1,282, and the middle half spent $1,153–$1,453. La Crosse spent more than 61% of them.

Middle half of the group, $1,153–$1,453Median $1,282La Crosse

Includes sewer and trash ($9 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →

The group
31

Wisconsin cities of 50,000–99,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; La Crosse itself left out).

Over the years

Day-to-day spending is up 14% since 2022

Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years La Crosse reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.

Day-to-day spending by fiscal year

2022$72 million
2023$76.6 million
2024$82.1 million

Per resident: 2022: $1,408 · 2023: $1,468 · 2024: $1,598.

City staff
584

full-time in March 2025, up from 524 in 2022.

Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.

Property tax

The typical homeowner pays $3,854 a year

Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.83% of the home’s value, vs 1.42% across Wisconsin.

What homes cost →

Typical yearly bill next door and statewide

Onalaska$4,326
Shelby$4,322
Medary$3,923
La Crosse$3,854
Wisconsin$3,792
Onalaska$3,766
La Crescent Township$3,690
Campbell$3,360
French Island$3,360
$3,854
typical bill a year
1.83%
effective rate
$210,100
typical home value (Census)
Your own bill

The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at La Crosse’s rate.

Can I afford it? →

The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.

Tax bills are one input to La Crosse’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in La Crosse →

Who runs it

Who’s in charge in La Crosse

Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.

See cityoflacrosse.org for La Crosse’s current officialsWe name an official only when a public source lists a current term. None does for La Crosse yet.cityoflacrosse.org ↗
Who works for La Crosse

One full-time city employee for every 88 residents

On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (51,380).

By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025

Parks & libraries94 + 171 pt
Roads & transportation101 + 15 pt
Fire107 + 1 pt
Police100 + 3 pt
Administration & buildings69 + 11 pt
Water & other utilities54 + 1 pt
Sewer & trash35 + 1 pt
Courts, inspections & corrections9 + 1 pt
Other15 + 9 pt
584
full-time
213
part-time
$3.7M
payroll for March 2025
$44.3M
a year, estimated (March × 12)
$71,400
average full-time pay, before benefits (March × 12)
96
sworn police officers
80
full-time firefighters
Compared, 2022.La Crosse had 10.2 full-time staff per 1,000 residents in March 2022. The median for the 27 of the 31 Wisconsin cities of 50,000–99,999 that don’t run their own schools that reported 2022 staff was 7.8: La Crosse had more than 96% of them. Same group and year as the budget comparison.

The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.

The school district

La Crosse School District

La Crosse’s K–12 school district, shared with Campbell, Shelby, Medary, Greenfield, Bergen. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.

Schools in La Crosse →
$19,797
per pupil · WI $16,459
5,794
students
$7.2 million
long-term debt

Of the $19,797 per pupil, $9,651 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.

The district: schools, scores and graduation →

Where the district’s money comes from
Local 39%State 49%Federal 11%

Wisconsin districts overall: 39% local, 50% state, 11% federal.

Also serving La Crosse

Onalaska School District · $17,001 per pupil

School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.

Elections · 2024 general election

How La Crosse voted in 2024

Official results for La Crosse’s own voters, as certified after the November 5, 2024 general election, with the county and the state beside them.

President28,939 votes · results as certified
Kamala D HarrisKamala D HarrisDemocrat61.6%17,817 votes
Donald J TrumpDonald J TrumpRepublican37.0%10,693 votes

Others: 1.5% (429 votes).

Most votes in La Crosse: Kamala D Harris

La Crosse County: Harris 54.0%, Trump 44.6% · Wisconsin: Trump 49.6%, Harris 48.7%

Turnout
67%

of La Crosse’s 43,464 adult citizens voted for president in 2024. Across Wisconsin: 76%.

Votes ÷ citizens of voting age (Census CVAP, 2020–24 ACS).

U.S. Senate28,569 votes
Tammy BaldwinDemocrat62.8%
Eric HovdeRepublican34.7%
Others2.5%

Most votes in La Crosse: Tammy Baldwin

La Crosse County: Baldwin 54.8%, Hovde 42.9% · Wisconsin: Baldwin 49.3%, Hovde 48.5%

U.S. House · Wisconsin’s 3rd District413,181 votes
Derrick Van OrdenRepublican51.3%
Rebecca CookeDemocrat48.6%
Others0.1%

Most votes in the district: Derrick Van Orden

Whole-district result

President, 2024: La Crosse, its county and the state

HarrisTrumpOthersVotes
La Crosse61.6%37.0%1.5%28,939
La Crosse County54.0%44.6%1.4%72,261
Wisconsin48.7%49.6%1.7%3,422,918
DemocratRepublicanLibertarianIndependent / other

Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.

Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.

Who represents La Crosse

From town hall to Washington

Every level of government that speaks for La Crosse.

2024 results ↑
  1. 1
    Your cityMayor & council
    Officials: cityoflacrosse.org ↗
  2. 2
    Wisconsin AssemblyLa Crosse is split between 3 districts
    Jill BillingsTara JohnsonSteve Doyle
  3. 3
    Wisconsin SenateState senator
    Brad Pfaff
  4. 4
    GovernorStatewide
    Tony Evers
  5. 5
    U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
    Derrick Van Orden
  6. 6
    U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Wisconsin
    Ron JohnsonTammy Baldwin
Find your state legislators by address ↗

Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.

Next door

How La Crosse compares with the towns next door

La Crosse spent $1,408 per resident in 2022. Most of its neighbors are townships, a different kind of government, so the like-for-like comparison is with similar cities, above. Tap a town to see its page.

Shelby: $514 per resident (2022)Medary: $306 per resident (2022)Campbell: $564 per resident (2022)French Island: unincorporated, no town budgetOnalaska: $878 per resident (2022)Onalaska: $273 per resident (2022)ShelbyMedaryCampbellFrench IslandOnalaskaOnalaskaLa Crosse
Spends the leastSpends the mostEstimate or no figures
TownDay-to-day, per resident (2022)Tax bill
Onalaska$273$3,766
Medary$306$3,923
Shelby$514$4,322
Campbell$564$3,360
Onalaska$878$4,326
La Crosse$1,408$3,854

Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).

Reach La Crosse’s government

The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.

The Handbook →
Official websitecityoflacrosse.org ↗

Questions about La Crosse’s government

How much does La Crosse spend per resident?

About $1,598 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $1,408 was more than 61% of 31 Wisconsin cities of 50,000–99,999 that don’t run their own schools.

What is the property tax rate in La Crosse?

Homeowners report a typical bill of $3,854 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.83% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.42% across Wisconsin. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see cityoflacrosse.org.

Who runs La Crosse’s government?

See cityoflacrosse.org for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for La Crosse yet.

How did La Crosse vote in 2024?

For president, Kamala D Harris 61.6%, Donald J Trump 37.0% (28,939 votes, official results). La Crosse County: Harris 54.0%, Trump 44.6%. Wisconsin: Trump 49.6%, Harris 48.7%.

How many people work for La Crosse?

584 full-time and 213 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $3.7M (about $44.3M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.

Who represents La Crosse in the state legislature?

La Crosse is split among 3 Assembly districts, so your address decides. The Wisconsin Legislature’s lookup finds yours. Its State Senate district is District 32 (Brad Pfaff). Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.

When is the next public meeting in La Crosse?

The next posted meeting is Judiciary & Administration Committee on Wednesday, November 4, at 6:00 pm in Council Chambers, City Hall, First Floor, from the city’s own agenda portal.

Ask neighbors about La Crosse’s government

Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors

Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →