Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Wisconsin ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

DBrown DeerSafer than 11% of U.S. towns C+OnalaskaSafer than 38% of U.S. towns

Schools

CBrown DeerBetter than 27% of districts in the state B+OnalaskaBetter than 68% of districts in the state

Health

B+Brown DeerHealthier than 66% of U.S. towns A−OnalaskaHealthier than 80% of U.S. towns

6Brown Deer

13Onalaska

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most remote workersWork · 363 towns #21#215 Best schoolsSchools · 262 towns #246#130 Shortest commuteGetting around · 371 towns #187#37 Most new homesHousing · 294 towns #157#43 Most walkableOutdoors · 371 towns #8#100 HealthiestHealth · 366 towns #180#92 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 366 towns #115#39 Lowest depressionHealth · 366 towns #10#78

Left end = #1 in Wisconsin. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Brown Deer’s rankings →

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $380 more a month in Onalaska

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Brown Deer$2,020/mo

Typical home $292K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.02% · or rent about $1,183/mo · Housing →

Onalaska$2,400/mo

Typical home $370K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.50% · or rent about $1,130/mo · Housing →

The difference: $380 a month, about $4,500 a year, between Onalaska and Brown Deer.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

Brown DeerOnalaska

Snow a year40″43″

January low14°F —

July high83°F —

Growing season (days)173d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)37th 15th

Outdoors & history

Brown DeerOnalaska

Trails1 mi 17 mi

Conserved land8.2%6.1%

Settled—1851

National Register places1 2

Archive photos2 6

Famous people born here3 —

Community

Brown DeerOnalaska

Library hours a week52 hrs 57 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 1

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

169 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Brown DeerWI OnalaskaWI

Brown Deer ↔ Onalaska169 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Wisconsin average

Brown DeerOnalaska

People

Population 12,564Lowest 19,348Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +4.2%Lowest WI: +3.6% +6%Highest WI: +3.6%

Median age 40.5±3.8Lowest about the WI average 40.7±2Highest about the WI average

Onalaska and Brown Deer are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 18.6%±3.7Lowest WI: 21.4% 19.4%±2.6Highest WI: 21.4%

Onalaska and Brown Deer are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 19.1%±3.6Lowest WI: 18.5% 20.4%±2.6Highest WI: 18.5%

Onalaska and Brown Deer are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 40.7%Lowest WI: 33.4% 41.7%Highest WI: 33.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.1%±1.7Highest WI: 5.8% 3.9%±1.2Lowest WI: 5.8%

Brown Deer and Onalaska are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $93,974±$16kHighest 21% above WI $85,867±$5kLowest 11% above WI

Brown Deer and Onalaska are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $239,300±$13kLowest 10% below WI $288,900±$16kHighest 8% above WI

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,183±$76Highest 9% above WI $1,130±$104Lowest 4% above WI

Brown Deer and Onalaska are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $4,826Highest 27% above WI $4,326Lowest 14% above WI

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 46.7%±12.1Highest WI: 43.7% 38.6%±9.3Lowest WI: 43.7%

Brown Deer and Onalaska are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 6.9%Highest WI: 10.6% 6%Lowest WI: 10.6%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 65.2%Highest WI: 67.8% 63.1%Lowest WI: 67.8%

Typical home builtmedian year 1969Lowest 6 yrs older than WI 1991Highest 16 yrs newer than WI

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 22 minHighest about the WI average 17 minLowest 22% below WI

Work from home 22.5%±4.7Highest WI: 13.1% 10.9%±2.7Lowest WI: 13.1%

Work in townworking residents 6.4%Lowest 18.1%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 9.8 miHighest 5.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.44Highest 1.36Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Milwaukee (36%)La Crosse (45%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in OnalaskaFew work in Brown Deer

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 8.2%Highest 6.1%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.9 miLowest 16.8 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miLowest 1.5 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 5Lowest 29Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 109Highest 59.0Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #246 of 262 in WI #130 of 262 in WI

School district Brown Deer School DistrictOnalaska School District

High school in town Brown Deer Middle/HighOnalaska High

Students per teacherat that high school 12.7Lowest 13.9Highest

Wisconsin average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Brown Deer neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Brown Deer’s Town Square.

Onalaska neighborsTown Square →

1 neighbor in Onalaska can answer.

Add a town

Set another town beside Brown Deer and Onalaska

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Bordering Brown Deer

+ Compare

River Hills1,632 people · $700K homes

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Milwaukee566,973 people · $184K homes

Towns like Brown Deer

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Port Washington12,645 people · $296K homes

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Stoughton13,033 people · $294K homes

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Greendale14,594 people · $314K homes

+ Compare

Grafton12,445 people · $329K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Wisconsin towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Brown Deer vs Onalaska

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Onalaska places higher on 13 of 21 WI lists

A typical home costs $380 more a month in Onalaska

What daily life feels like in each

169 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Brown Deer and Onalaska

Bordering Brown Deer

Towns like Brown Deer

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