Four Corners, Wisconsin, 2023
Little Falls’s story
162 years in pictures
The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 2 maps from 1949 on.
- 1864Little Falls is settled
Little FallsWI
A town of 1,545, settled in 1864.
Population
1,545
2025 Census estimate · +2.2% since 2020
Median home value
$232K
Census ACS
Household income
$89K
median
Median age
41.8
years
Jobs based here
164
A commuter town
Is Little Falls a good place to live?
Little Falls’ weakest subject grade is a C for health. 94% of households own their home in Little Falls, against 74% in Wisconsin’s towns and 73% across U.S. towns. On civic life, just 10 of Wisconsin’s 869 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Sand Creek Streambank Protection Area, at 626 acres. Little Falls has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
A commuter town
98% of working residents leave Little Falls for work
Where Little Falls’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
164jobs based in Little Falls
2%of working residents work in town
23 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Little Falls grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Little Falls is from typical.
HealthMayo Clinic Health Systm Franciscan Healthcare Sparta 11.2 miles awayCOpen →SchoolsBehind 66% of Wisconsin districts on tests and graduationCOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.6 of 20; 2.7% of households have no car; 2.4% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC+Open →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listC+Open →Jobs & income$89K median household incomeB−Open →Cost of livingTypical home $232K, 3.3 years of the Sparta area’s $69K median household incomeB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors5 miles of trails; 5% conserved landBOpen →HistoryCOpen →Civic life0.7 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsDOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Little Falls: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Little Falls, and how to reach them.
PowerXcel Energy15.6¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
InternetProviders and speedsData pending · D4
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Little Falls’ trash rules yet
SchoolsSparta Area School DistrictMelrose-Mindoro School District2 districts serve Little Falls; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn Wisconsin you can register online until 20 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 20 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereTown of Little Falls ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP codes54656, 5461554656 99% · 54615 1%Census 2020
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 Little Falls.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
Most of Little Falls’ workers commute out: the town has 0.2 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Little Falls for work: only 2% work in town. Since 2013, Little Falls has added 42 jobs, to 164 in 2023. The top destinations are Sparta (22%), La Crosse (11%) and Tomah (9%).
2%work in town
| Little Falls | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 1.8% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.6% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $89,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Little Falls2%
Sparta22%
La Crosse11%
Tomah9%
Onalaska3%
23 mi
median commute distance
164
jobs based in Little Falls
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HealthC
Health in Little Falls trails 70% of U.S. towns
Little Falls beats the Wisconsin average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 44% of Little Falls adults have obesity, where Wisconsin’s towns sit at 38% and U.S. towns at 35%. 17% of Little Falls adults smoke cigarettes.
31%healthier than U.S. townsCHealth Grade
| Little Falls | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 26% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
32 measures vs. Wisconsin
0 better24 too close to call8 worse
| What stands out | Little Falls | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8% | 6.5% |
| More smokers | 16.7% | 13.6% |
| More adults who get no exercise | 31.7% | 26.6% |
Mayo Clinic Health Systm Franciscan Healthcare Sparta
11.2 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Climate
In Little Falls, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
Little Falls has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 7° and about 41 inches of snow falls in a winter.
41″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter11–28°
Spring34–56°
Summer58–80°
Fall37–58°
Oct 1
typical first frost
May 9
typical last frost
+1.4°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
OutdoorsB
Conserved land covers 4.6% of Little Falls
4.8 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Little Falls’ trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
4.6%conserved
| Little Falls | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.6% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
4.6%
conserved · 2,015 of 43,697 acres
4.8 mi
of trails · 0.1 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sand Creek Streambank Protection Area | — | 626 |
| 2. Big Creek State Fishery Area | — | 156 |
| 3. Wegner Grotto County Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C+
Little Falls faces a moderate natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 53% of U.S. communities.
53risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesTornadoes
3
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Little Falls
18pages on Little Falls
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Little Falls; the nearest are
University of Wisconsin-La CrosseUniversity or college · Public · La Crosse26.3 mi$10,070 in-state tuitionWestern Technical CollegeCommunity college · Public · La Crosse26.8 mi$4,820 in-state tuition
About 3 of every 100 Little Falls residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
About Little Falls
Town in Wisconsin, United States
Little Falls is a town in Monroe County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,509 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Cataract and Four Corners are located in the town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 69 sq mi
- Elevation
- 827 ft
- Area code
- 608
Little Falls’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Little Falls.
MelroseNew LymeSpartaBurnsIrvingLittle Falls
How the neighbors grade
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Falls | — | — | B− | — | C | C |
| Melrose | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| New Lyme | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sparta | #335 | C− | B− | — | C | C |
| Burns | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Irving | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Little Falls has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Little Falls and Sparta report no FBI crime data of their own. Melrose, New Lyme, Burns and Irving aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Little Falls with a neighbor →
Questions about Little Falls
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Little Falls, 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 B−.