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Compare towns

Onalaska vs La Crosse

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: household income (+54% in Onalaska) and work in town (+35.7 pts in La Crosse).

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Onalaska, WIAn outdoors townWisconsin · 19,348 people
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La Crosse, WIA history townWisconsin · 51,356 people
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Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

OnalaskaAn outdoors town
Outdoors#24 most trails in WI17 miles of trails across 29 parks and preserves Schools#130 for schools in WIof 262 towns Housing$370K typical home9% above the WI typical home All about Onalaska →
La CrosseA history town
HistorySettled in 184242 places on the National Register Famous people67 notable peopleborn in La Crosse Outdoors#8 most trails in WI50 miles of trails across 51 parks and preserves All about La Crosse →
The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

Household income+54%
Households in Onalaska earn more
Onalaska $85,867La Crosse $55,866
Work in town+35.7 pts
More of La Crosse’s workers stay in town
La Crosse 53.8%Onalaska 18.1%
Trails3×
La Crosse has more miles of trail
La Crosse 49.8 miOnalaska 16.8 mi
Home values+38%
Homes cost more in Onalaska
Onalaska $288,900La Crosse $210,100
Median age10.2 yrs
Onalaska skews older
Onalaska 40.7La Crosse 30.5
In college+17.9 pts
La Crosse is more of a college town
La Crosse 21.8%Onalaska 3.9%
★ What stands out · Report cards

Onalaska places higher on 14 of 23 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
C+OnalaskaSafer than 38% of U.S. towns DLa CrosseSafer than 11% of U.S. towns
Schools
B+OnalaskaBetter than 68% of districts in the state C−La CrosseBetter than 23% of districts in the state
Health
A−OnalaskaHealthier than 80% of U.S. towns B−La CrosseHealthier than 49% of U.S. towns
14Onalaska
9La Crosse

Lists won, of 23 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Lowest depressionHealth · 366 towns #78#366 Highest graduation rateSchools · 301 towns #25#253 Most new homesHousing · 294 towns #43#238 HealthiestHealth · 366 towns #92#278 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 366 towns #39#217 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 99 towns #36#77 Fewest smokersHealth · 366 towns #35#181 Highest incomeIncome · 371 towns #198#342

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 $450 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.

Onalaska$2,400/mo
Typical home $370K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.50% · or rent about $1,130/mo · Housing →
La Crosse$1,950/mo
Typical home $288K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.83% · or rent about $1,010/mo · Housing →

The difference: $450 a month, about $5,400 a year, between Onalaska and La Crosse.

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

Onalaska and La Crosse share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

OnalaskaLa CrosseOnalaskaLa Crosse
Onalaska ↔ La Crosse4.6 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
3,866 Onalaska residents work in La Crosse (44.8% of its workers)
2,114 La Crosse residents work in Onalaska (9.8% of its workers)
Work & commute in Onalaska →
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
OnalaskaLa Crosse
Snow a year43″43″
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)15th22nd
Outdoors & history
OnalaskaLa Crosse
Trails17 mi50 mi
Conserved land6.1%11.4%
Settled18511842
National Register places242
Archive photos66
Famous people born here—67
Community
OnalaskaLa Crosse
Library hours a week57 hrs56 hrs
Colleges in town—3
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined10

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.

OnalaskaLa Crosse
People
Population 19,348Lowest 51,356Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +6%Highest WI: +3.6% +2.7%Lowest WI: +3.6%
Median age 40.7±2Highest about the WI average 30.5±0.7Lowest 24% below WI
Kids under 18 19.4%±2.6Highest WI: 21.4% 14.6%±1.2Lowest WI: 21.4%
Age 65+ 20.4%±2.6Highest WI: 18.5% 17.1%±1.4Lowest WI: 18.5%
Onalaska and La Crosse 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% 34.9%Lowest WI: 33.4%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.9%±1.2Lowest WI: 5.8% 21.8%±1.5Highest WI: 5.8%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $85,867±$5kHighest 11% above WI $55,866±$3kLowest 28% below WI
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $288,900±$16kHighest 8% above WI $210,100±$7kLowest 21% below WI
Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,130±$104Highest 4% above WI $1,010±$39Lowest 7% below WI
Onalaska and La Crosse are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly $4,326Highest 14% above WI $3,854Lowest about the WI average
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 38.6%±9.3Lowest WI: 43.7% 47.2%±4.6Highest WI: 43.7%
La Crosse 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% 21.4%Highest WI: 10.6%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 63.1%Highest WI: 67.8% 46.1%Lowest WI: 67.8%
Typical home builtmedian year 1991Highest 16 yrs newer than WI 1965Lowest 10 yrs older than WI
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 17 minHighest 22% below WI 16 minLowest 28% below WI
Work from home 10.9%±2.7Lowest WI: 13.1% 11.9%±1.4Highest WI: 13.1%
La Crosse and Onalaska are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 18.1%Lowest 53.8%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 5.8 miHighest 4.3 miLowest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.36Lowest 2.05Highest
Top workplaceoutside town La Crosse (45%)Onalaska (10%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 45% work in La Crosse10% work in Onalaska
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 6.1%Lowest 11.4%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 16.8 miLowest 49.8 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.5 miLowest 2.1 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 29Lowest 51Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 59.0Lowest 69.2Highest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #130 of 262 in WI#215 of 262 in WI
School district Onalaska School DistrictLa Crosse School District
High school in town Onalaska HighCentral High
Students per teacherat that high school 13.9Highest 13.0Lowest
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.

La Crosse neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to La Crosse’s Town Square.

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Bordering Onalaska

O
+ Compare
Onalaska5,798 people · $320K homes
M
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Medary1,514 people · $356K homes
H
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Holmen11,372 people · $286K homes
H
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Hamilton2,668 people · $369K homes

Towns like Onalaska

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Howard21,087 people · $316K homes
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Port Washington12,645 people · $296K homes
B
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Brown Deer12,564 people · $239K homes
+ Compare
Stoughton13,033 people · $294K 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.

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