Work & commute · La Crosse

Work & commute in La Crosse, WI

54% of La Crosse’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Onalaska (10%), Madison (2%) and West Salem (2%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

54%

11,652 of 21,673 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 10,021 La Crosse residents head out of town to work, 11,652 work right here, and 32,859 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in La Crosse.

10,021live here, work elsewhere

11,652live and work here

32,859work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where La Crosse goes to work

La Crosse (in town)right here

54%11,652

Onalaska4.6 mi away

10%2,114

Madison103.4 mi away

2%472

West Salem8.5 mi away

2%389

Holmen10.3 mi away

1%313

Sparta22 mi away

1%295

Eau Claire69.9 mi away

1%282

Onalaska7.8 mi away

1%273

Winona, MN27 mi away

1%250

Campbell5.5 mi away

1%214

Everywhere elseother towns and states

25%5,419

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far La Crosse commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

70%

21%

70%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

La Crosse is a job hub

2.05jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.1 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in La Crosse are

44,511 jobs are based in La Crosse. Here is what they are, next to the jobs La Crosse’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in La Crosse

44,511 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month60%

Jobs La Crosse residents hold

21,673 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month54%

+6%

Jobs based in La Crosse, 2013 → 2023: 42,122 → 44,511. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.