Is Lafayette a good place to live?
Lafayette is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 312th among Wisconsin's 357 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $102K. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $353K for a typical one and 4.7 times the Eau Claire metro’s $75K median household income. Lafayette’s January low is 5°F, below both Wisconsin’s towns (11°F) and U.S. towns (22°F). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 82% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Pine Harbor Woods County Park, at 39 acres.
97% of working residents leave Lafayette for work
Where Lafayette’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Lafayette grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Lafayette is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Lafayette: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lafayette, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Lafayette.
Lafayette sends most of its workers to Eau Claire and beyond, has fewer 90° days than most of the country, though not than most of Wisconsin and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Wisconsin.
Most working residents commute out of Lafayette
Lafayette has 675 jobs for its 2,754 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 29.4 minutes, against 22.2 across Wisconsin.
Most working residents leave Lafayette for work: only 3% work in town. The average trip to work in Lafayette is 29 minutes. Since 2013, Lafayette has added 146 jobs, to 675 in 2023.
| Lafayette | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 2.7% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $102,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.2% | 8.4% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
On state tests, Lafayette’s schools trail 53% of Wisconsin districts
Its public schools are run by the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stillson ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 338 | A+ |
| Liberty Christian School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 5–12 | Grades 5–12 | 51 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
In Lafayette, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
The Eau Claire Rgnl Ap weather station, 10 miles away, records that about 10 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 86% of Wisconsin places with climate records.
Lafayette has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Lafayette’s July high is 81°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
More middle-aged adults than Wisconsin overall
Adults 35 to 64 are 46% of residents (38% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (22% statewide). 41% of Lafayette adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. Lafayette has grown 4.1% since 2020, to 6,430 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Lafayette | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 48.3 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 41% | 32% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 21% | 22% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.4 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Lafayette | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.2% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.5% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.1% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.3% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.2% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.4% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.2% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.2% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.5% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.3% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 20% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.1% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 30.9% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.3% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Inland flooding leads a moderate hazard risk in Lafayette
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 60% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
On CDC estimates, Lafayette is less healthy than 50% of U.S. towns
Within Wisconsin it is less healthy than 75% of the 357 graded towns: Wisconsin sets a high bar. Against the 8,348 U.S. towns with household incomes like Lafayette’s, it is less healthy than 75%, so it trails even them.
Lafayette tracks Wisconsin closely on all 32 CDC measures. 41% of adults have obesity in Lafayette.
| Lafayette | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 78% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Lafayette has set aside 0.3% of its land for conservation
0.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pine Harbor Woods County Park | — | 39 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Lafayette
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Lafayette
About 7 of every 100 Lafayette residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
About Lafayette
Town in Wisconsin, United States
Lafayette is a town in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 6,197 at the 2020 census. The census-designated place of Lake Wissota is located within the town. The unincorporated community of Bateman is also located in the town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 39 sq mi
- Elevation
- 974 ft
Lafayette’s neighbors
8 towns share a border with Lafayette.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C+; Chippewa Falls (B−) is closest.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette | #312 | C+ | C+ | — | B− | B− |
| Anson | — | — | B | — | B− | B− |
| Eagle Point | #253 | B− | C+ | — | B− | B− |
| Sigel | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | C |
| Lake Wissota | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Chippewa Falls | #257 | B− | B− | B | B− | B− |
| Seymour | #220 | B | C+ | — | B− | B+ |
| Hallie | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Anson and Sigel have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Lafayette, Anson, Eagle Point, Sigel and Seymour report no FBI crime data of their own. Lake Wissota and Hallie aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Lafayette with a neighbor →
Questions about Lafayette
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lafayette, WI a good place to live?
Lafayette grades C+ overall, better than 35% of U.S. towns and #312 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades B− for health and B− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Lafayette, WI expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.