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%

Howard$2,480/mo

Typical home $395K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.25% · or rent about $1,102/mo · Housing →

Onalaska$2,400/mo

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

The difference: $80 a month, about $900 a year, between Howard and Onalaska.

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.

Report cards

Onalaska places higher on 11 of 22 WI lists

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

–HowardNot graded C+OnalaskaSafer than 38% of U.S. towns

Schools

BHowardBetter than 59% of districts in the state B+OnalaskaBetter than 68% of districts in the state

Health

B+HowardHealthier than 72% of U.S. towns A−OnalaskaHealthier than 80% of U.S. towns

9Howard

11Onalaska

Lists won, of 22 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Highest graduation rateSchools · 301 towns #157#25 Lowest obesityHealth · 366 towns #244#102 Most trailsOutdoors · 301 towns #129#24 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 371 towns #45#139 Fastest growingGrowth · 358 towns #45#133 Most walkableOutdoors · 371 towns #191#100 Most remote workersWork · 363 towns #129#215 Shortest commuteGetting around · 371 towns #121#37

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

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

HowardOnalaska

Snow a year50″43″

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)11th 15th

Outdoors & history

HowardOnalaska

Trails12 mi 17 mi

Conserved land7.1%6.1%

Settled1835 1851

National Register places1 2

Archive photos8 6

Famous people born here3 —

Community

HowardOnalaska

Library hours a week55 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

162 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

HowardWI OnalaskaWI

Howard ↔ Onalaska162 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

HowardOnalaska

People

Population 21,087Highest 19,348Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +14.7%Highest WI: +3.6% +6%Lowest WI: +3.6%

Median age 41.2±2.4Highest about the WI average 40.7±2Lowest about the WI average

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

Kids under 18 21.9%±2.6Highest WI: 21.4% 19.4%±2.6Lowest WI: 21.4%

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

Age 65+ 17.4%±2.5Lowest WI: 18.5% 20.4%±2.6Highest WI: 18.5%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 35.8%Lowest WI: 33.4% 41.7%Highest WI: 33.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.6%±1.5Highest WI: 5.8% 3.9%±1.2Lowest WI: 5.8%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $85,477±$7kLowest 10% above WI $85,867±$5kHighest 11% above WI

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $315,700±$16kHighest 18% above WI $288,900±$16kLowest 8% above WI

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,102±$47Lowest about the WI average $1,130±$104Highest 4% above WI

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $3,948Lowest 4% above WI $4,326Highest 14% above WI

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 36.7%±5.5Lowest WI: 43.7% 38.6%±9.3Highest WI: 43.7%

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

Below poverty line 5.1%Lowest WI: 10.6% 6%Highest WI: 10.6%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 63.9%Highest WI: 67.8% 63.1%Lowest WI: 67.8%

Typical home builtmedian year 1995Highest 20 yrs newer than WI 1991Lowest 16 yrs newer than WI

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 20 minHighest 9% below WI 17 minLowest 22% below WI

Work from home 14.2%±2.5Highest WI: 13.1% 10.9%±2.7Lowest WI: 13.1%

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

Work in townworking residents 9.6%Lowest 18.1%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 7.3 miHighest 5.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.92Lowest 1.36Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Green Bay (27%)La Crosse (45%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in OnalaskaFew work in Howard

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 7.1%Highest 6.1%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 12.0 miLowest 16.8 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.5 miLowest 1.5 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 15Lowest 29Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 36.2Lowest 59.0Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #111 of 262 in WI #130 of 262 in WI

School district New Leaf Prep Academy Inc · Howard-Suamico School DistrictOnalaska School District

High school in town None in townOnalaska High

Students per teacherat that high school — 13.9

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.

Howard neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Howard’s Town Square.

Onalaska neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 1w

Welcoming New Neighbors

1 neighbor in Onalaska can answer.

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Set another town beside Howard and Onalaska

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Bordering Howard

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Green Bay106,253 people · $207K homes

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Pittsfield2,772 people · $308K homes

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Hobart10,610 people · $414K homes

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Suamico12,985 people · $367K homes

Towns like Howard

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Bellevue16,442 people · $299K homes

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Ashwaubenon17,314 people · $267K homes

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Fox Crossing19,131 people · $248K homes

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South Milwaukee20,442 people · $236K 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.

Howard vs Onalaska

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs about the same each month

Onalaska places higher on 11 of 22 WI lists

What daily life feels like in each

162 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Welcoming New Neighbors

Set another town beside Howard and Onalaska

Bordering Howard

Towns like Howard

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