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

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

Schools

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

Health

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

13Onalaska

6Brown Deer

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

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

Left end = #1 in Wisconsin. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Onalaska’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%

Onalaska$2,400/mo

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

Brown Deer$2,020/mo

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

OnalaskaBrown Deer

Snow a year43″40″

January low—14°F

July high—83°F

Growing season (days)—173d

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

Outdoors & history

OnalaskaBrown Deer

Trails17 mi 1 mi

Conserved land6.1%8.2%

Settled1851 —

National Register places2 1

Archive photos6 2

Famous people born here—3

Community

OnalaskaBrown Deer

Library hours a week57 hrs 52 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined1 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.

Where they are

169 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

OnalaskaWI Brown DeerWI

Onalaska ↔ Brown Deer169 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

OnalaskaBrown Deer

People

Population 19,348Highest 12,564Lowest

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

Median age 40.7±2Highest about the WI average 40.5±3.8Lowest 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 19.4%±2.6Highest WI: 21.4% 18.6%±3.7Lowest 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+ 20.4%±2.6Highest WI: 18.5% 19.1%±3.6Lowest 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+ 41.7%Highest WI: 33.4% 40.7%Lowest WI: 33.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.9%±1.2Lowest WI: 5.8% 4.1%±1.7Highest 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 $85,867±$5kLowest 11% above WI $93,974±$16kHighest 21% 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 $288,900±$16kHighest 8% above WI $239,300±$13kLowest 10% below WI

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,130±$104Lowest 4% above WI $1,183±$76Highest 9% 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 $4,326Lowest 14% above WI $4,826Highest 27% above WI

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 38.6%±9.3Lowest WI: 43.7% 46.7%±12.1Highest 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%Lowest WI: 10.6% 6.9%Highest WI: 10.6%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

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

Work in townworking residents 18.1%Highest 6.4%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 5.8 miLowest 9.8 miHighest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Brown DeerFew work in Onalaska

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 6.1%Lowest 8.2%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 16.8 miHighest 0.9 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.5 miHighest 0.2 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 29Highest 5Lowest

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

Schools

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

School district Onalaska School DistrictBrown Deer School District

High school in town Onalaska HighBrown Deer Middle/High

Students per teacherat that high school 13.9Highest 12.7Lowest

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.

Onalaska neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 1w

Welcoming New Neighbors

1 neighbor in Onalaska can answer.

Brown Deer neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Brown Deer’s Town Square.

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Bordering Onalaska

+ Compare

Onalaska5,798 people · $320K homes

+ Compare

La Crosse51,356 people · $210K homes

+ Compare

Medary1,514 people · $356K homes

+ Compare

Holmen11,372 people · $286K homes

Towns like Onalaska

+ Compare

Howard21,087 people · $316K homes

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Port Washington12,645 people · $296K homes

+ Compare

Stoughton13,033 people · $294K homes

+ Compare

Greendale14,594 people · $314K 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.

Onalaska vs Brown Deer

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

Welcoming New Neighbors

Set another town beside Onalaska and Brown Deer

Bordering Onalaska

Towns like Onalaska

Post to Onalaska

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