Superior Avenue, 1910
Tomah’s story
171 years in pictures
Census counts: 837 in 1870, 9,570 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 3 maps from 1919 on.
- 1855Tomah is settled
TomahWI
5 bordering townsMap →
Photo: RRGreenough · CC BY-SA 4.0
Population
1,464
2025 Census estimate · −0.9% since 2020
Median home value
$312K
Census ACS
Household income
$98K
median
Median age
38.6
years
Jobs based here
561
Balanced
Is Tomah a good place to live?
The best of Tomah’s subject grades is a B for incomes; the weakest is a C− for walkability. 35% of residents are under 18 in Tomah, against 21% in Wisconsin’s towns and 22% across U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 55 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns do worse. Tomah's schools rank behind 75% of the state's. Tomah's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 83% of U.S. towns. Tomah has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Tomah stand out
Where Tomah beats most towns.
Small town
1,464 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
TomahAdrianOakdaleWiltonLa GrangeTomah
How Tomah grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Tomah is from typical.
WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.2 of 20; 5.4% of households have no car; 0.8% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC−Open →HealthLess healthy than 76% of U.S. towns; Tomah Memorial Hospital 3 miles awayC−Open →SchoolsCOpen →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listCOpen →Jobs & income$98K median household incomeBOpen →Cost of livingTypical home $312K, 4.5 years of the Sparta area’s $69K median household incomeB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors1 mile of trailC−Open →History7 notable people born hereCOpen →Civic life0.2 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsC−Open →
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 Tomah: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Tomah, and how to reach them.
PowerOakdale Electric Coop15.9¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterTomah Waterworks1 health-based violation in 5 years · EPAEPA
InternetProviders and speedsData pending · D4
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Tomah’s trash rules yet
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 Tomah ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, May 2026
ZIP codes54660, 5467054660 98% · 54670 2%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 Tomah.
HealthC−
More of Tomah’s adults have obesity than in the typical Wisconsin or U.S. town
45% of Tomah adults have obesity, above both the Wisconsin town median (38%) and the median of U.S. towns (35%). 13% of Tomah adults have diabetes. Tomah beats the Wisconsin average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12.
24%healthier than U.S. townsC−Health Grade
| Tomah | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 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 better20 too close to call12 worse
| What stands out | Tomah | WI |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14% | 9.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.4% | 6.5% |
| More smokers | 17.4% | 13.6% |
Tomah Memorial Hospital
3 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Who lives here
More children than Wisconsin overall
16% of residents are 65 or older in Tomah. 26% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 33% across Wisconsin. The median age in Tomah is 38.6 years.
38.6median age · WI 40.2
| Tomah | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 38.6 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 32% | 29% |
TomahWisconsinUnited States
Ages · share of residents
25%
Education · adults 25 and older
No diploma6%
High school35%
Some college19%
Associate’s14%
Bachelor’s16%
Graduate10%
Women and men · all residents
Somewhere between 34% and 56% women
The Census survey reached too few of Tomah’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±11 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Tomah | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.1% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 24.7% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.2% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.2% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.1% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.4% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.7% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.6% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.1% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.7% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.9% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.2% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.8% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.3% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,500, single groups can be off by several points
Climate
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Tomah
Tomah has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Tomah’s July high is 81°F.
48″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter10–28°
Spring33–55°
Summer57–79°
Fall37–57°
Oct 1
typical first frost
May 9
typical last frost
+1.4°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C
High risk in Tomah, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 66% of U.S. communities.
66risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesTornadoes
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B
Most working residents commute out of Tomah
Most working residents leave Tomah for work: only 3% work in town. Since 2013, Tomah has added 244 jobs, to 561 in 2023. The top destinations are Tomah (25%), Sparta (6%) and La Crosse (6%).
3%work in town
| Tomah | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.7% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $98,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.1% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Tomah3%
Tomah25%
Sparta6%
La Crosse6%
Byron3%
18 mi
median commute distance
561
jobs based in Tomah
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
C−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
OutdoorsC−
Tomah has set aside 0% of its land for conservation
1.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
0%conserved
0%
conserved · 0 of 19,821 acres
1.0 mi
of trails · 0 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Recreation Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Tomah
18pages on Tomah
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Tomah; the nearest are
University of Wisconsin-La CrosseUniversity or college · Public · La Crosse37.8 mi$10,070 in-state tuitionWestern Technical CollegeCommunity college · Public · La Crosse38.5 mi$4,820 in-state tuition
About 2 of every 100 Tomah residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
Famous people from Tomah
7 notable people were born in Tomah.
A
Anne Nicol GaylorAmerican atheist and campaigner for abortion rights · 1926–2015A
Arthur Claude RugeAmerican mechanical engineer · 1905–2000
E
Edith Franklin WyattAmerican writer · 1873–1958C
Connor PrielippBaseball player · born 2001V
Virginia WatsonAmerican cultural anthropologist · 1918–2007About Tomah
City in Wisconsin, United States
Tomah is a city in Monroe County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,570 as of the 2020 census. The city is surrounded by the Town of Tomah and the Town of La Grange.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1855
- Area
- 8.0 sq mi
- ZIP code
- 54660
- Area code
- 608
Questions about Tomah
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Tomah, 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−.
What is Tomah, WI known for?
7 notable people were born here, including Anne Nicol Gaylor and Arthur Claude Ruge.