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%

Dodge$1,240/mo

Typical home $185K (Census) · tax rate 1.76% · or rent about $796/mo · Housing →

Cross$1,840/mo

Typical home $292K (Census) · tax rate 1.30% · or rent about $875/mo · Housing →

The difference: $600 a month, about $7,200 a year, between Cross and Dodge.

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.

Where they are

Dodge and Cross share a border

Straight-line miles between town centers.

DodgeCross

Dodge ↔ Cross7.1 miles apart · They share a border

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

DodgeCross

Snow a year42″38″

January low8°F 8°F

July high84°F 83°F

Growing season (days)152d 180d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)56th 52nd

Outdoors & history

DodgeCross

Trails0 mi —

Conserved land2.1%—

Archive photos4 —

Community

DodgeCross

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

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.

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

DodgeCross

People

Population 503Highest 437Lowest

Median age 62.8±10.8Highest 56% above WI 41.8±10.4Lowest 4% above WI

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

Kids under 18 20.1%±5.9Lowest WI: 21.4% 25.4%±5.6Highest WI: 21.4%

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

Age 65+ 47.3%±16Highest WI: 18.5% 19.5%±5.3Lowest WI: 18.5%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 15.8%Lowest WI: 33.4% 29.1%Highest WI: 33.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 1%±1.2Highest WI: 5.8% 0.9%±2.5Lowest WI: 5.8%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $53,209±$7kLowest 31% below WI $93,333±$31kHighest 20% above WI

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $185,400±$9kLowest 30% below WI $291,700±$57kHighest 9% above WI

Rentmedian gross, monthly $796±$141Lowest 27% below WI $875±$404Highest 20% below WI

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $3,262Lowest 14% below WI $3,781Highest about the WI average

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 88.9%±55.8Highest WI: 43.7% 25%±88.2Lowest WI: 43.7%

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

Below poverty line 16.5%Highest WI: 10.6% 3.2%Lowest WI: 10.6%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 86.7%Lowest WI: 67.8% 87.1%Highest WI: 67.8%

Typical home builtmedian year 1964Lowest 11 yrs older than WI 1976Highest 1 yr newer than WI

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 29 minHighest 29% above WI 25 minLowest 12% above WI

Work from home 14.2%±8.7Lowest WI: 13.1% 22.2%±13.8Highest WI: 13.1%

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

Work in townworking residents 0.5%Lowest 0.6%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 23.8 miHighest 12.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.09Highest 0.06Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town La Crosse (16%)Winona (36%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in CrossFew work in Dodge

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 2.1%Highest 1.7%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Highest 0Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 1.3Highest 0.6Lowest

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.

Dodge neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Dodge’s Town Square.

Cross neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Cross’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Dodge and Cross

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Dodge

+ Compare

Buffalo725 people · $194K homes

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Trempealeau1,929 people · $305K homes

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Arcadia1,662 people · $267K homes

Towns like Dodge

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Monroe418 people · $210K homes

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Freeman596 people · $207K homes

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Wolf River738 people · $193K homes

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Flambeau474 people · $176K homes

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.

Dodge vs Cross

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $600 more a month in Cross

Dodge and Cross share a border

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Dodge and Cross

Bordering Dodge

Towns like Dodge

Post to Dodge

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