ExecutivePulse
Official Federal Data

La Crosse County, Wisconsin

FIPS 55063 · La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN · Population 120,488
9 Sources Updated June 22, 2026
$73,013
Median Income
$80,734 national
2.8%
Unemployment
4% national
$9.9B
GDP
36.5%
Bachelor's+
35.7% national

Demographics & Population

Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates

Household Income

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$73,013
Per Capita
$41,922
Mean Household
$97,214
Poverty Rate
12.4%
Median Income Comparison
La Crosse County$73,013
Wisconsin$77,485
National$80,734

Population Profile

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
65+: 18.1% (21,784 residents) 55-64: 12% (14,464 residents) 35-54: 22.6% (27,219 residents) 18-34: 28% (33,691 residents) Under 18: 19.4% (23,330 residents) 38 Median Age
Cohorts
Under 18 · 19.4%
18-34 · 28%
35-54 · 22.6%
55-64 · 12%
65+ · 18.1%
Race & Ethnicity
White88.2%
Black or African American1.5%
Asian4.5%
Hispanic or Latino(any race)2.7%
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.

Educational Attainment

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
96.5%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +6.9 pts
36.5%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +0.8 pts
14.3%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +0.2 pts

Employment Overview

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
120,488
Population
66,592
Labor Force
Employed
64,276
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
2.8% ▲ +0.2 pts YoY
Mean Commute 8 min below national avg
18.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
11.6%
Key Takeaways
  • Broadly in line with U.S. norms across income, poverty, and education.

Economy & Industry

Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis

$9.9B
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · CAGDP1 Regional GDP

Top Industries by Employment

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages 2025 Annual
Top industries by employment in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, with employment, share of top sectors, and average wage
IndustryEmploymentShare of Top 10Avg Wage
1Health Care and Social Assistance
15,895 28.8%
$74,820
2Manufacturing
8,311 15.0%
$65,739
3Retail Trade
8,021 14.5%
$35,724
4Accommodation and Food Services
6,450 11.7%
$21,138
5Wholesale Trade
3,282 5.9%
$79,321
6Construction
3,014 5.5%
$75,905
7Transportation and Warehousing
2,996 5.4%
$66,706
8Other Services (except Public Administration)
2,729 4.9%
$40,627
9Administrative and Support and Waste Management
2,343 4.2%
$47,340
10Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
2,232 4.0%
$88,516
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Key Takeaways
  • Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 15,895 workers (28.8% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $74,820.
  • Economic scale: Regional GDP of $9.9B (2024).
  • Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $88,516 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $21,138, a 4.2x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration

Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.

Location Quotient Analysis

Concentrated Industries
Source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector · Location Quotient vs. national employment share
Same source as the Top Industries table above, sub-sector view surfaces the specialization the supersector view masks (e.g., Plastics & Rubber Manufacturing inside the Manufacturing supersector).
Printing and Related Support Activities
8.10x
1,255
Machinery Manufacturing
3.82x
1,871
Hospitals
3.27x
8,185
Food Manufacturing
2.74x
2,188
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
2.16x
324
Truck Transportation
1.79x
1,188
Utilities
1.71x
464
Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional Orgs
1.57x
1,012
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Misc. Retailers
1.56x
1,041

Cluster Depth

Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Health Care & Social Assistance Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
8,185
Cluster Employment
3.27x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Printing and Related Support Activities
8.10x 1,255
Machinery Manufacturing
3.82x 1,871
Hospitals
3.27x 8,185
Food Manufacturing
2.74x 2,188
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
2.16x 324
Truck Transportation
1.79x 1,188
Utilities
1.71x 464
Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional Orgs
1.57x 1,012
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Misc. Retailers
1.56x 1,041

Attraction Opportunities

LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.18x
Support Activities for Transportation
68 employed
0.28x
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
215 employed
0.32x
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
60 employed
0.33x
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
90 employed
0.41x
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
167 employed
Key Takeaways
  • Top specialization: Printing and Related Support Activities concentrates at 8.10x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
  • Cluster depth: 9 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
  • Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
La Crosse County's Top Sectors by Workforce Share
Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of total private-sector employment across all NAICS supersectors. Hover for exact employment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW 2025 Annual · Private sector, NAICS supersectors

Housing & Affordability

Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026

Housing Overview

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$257,000
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,059
Rent/Mo
62.2%
Owner-Occ
4.7%
Vacancy
3.5x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average

HUD Fair Market Rents

Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$804/mo
1 Bedroom
$889/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,166/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,515/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,903/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,825/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
  • In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.5x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
  • Affordable rent tiers: 4 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,825/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.

Workforce Pipeline

Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition

Labor Market Overview

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
75,374
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 8 min below national avg
18.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
11.6%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
87.4%
of prime-age population
Labor force participation rate: 68.5% of working-age population (18-64) 68% Participation
▼ vs 2019

Education & Talent Pipeline

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
36.5%
HS Diploma+
96.5%
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
36,732/yr
University of Wisconsin-Madison 17,447/yr
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 5,987/yr
Marquette University 3,757/yr
Madison Area Technical College 3,280/yr
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 3,231/yr
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 3,030/yr

Aging Workforce

Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
19.2%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)

Workforce by Occupation

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
40.6%
Service
16.2%
Sales & Office
19.7%
Construction / Maint.
7.2%
Production / Transport
16.3%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 64,276 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
  • Short commutes: 18.7-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
  • Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 27,191 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.

AI Insights

AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources

Sample AI Insight

La Crosse County shows strong potential for printing and related support activities attraction, with a 8.10x concentration and 1,255 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.

The interconnected base across printing and related support activities, machinery manufacturing, and hospitals creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.

Industry Shift Analysis

Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100

Prospect Match Scores

Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example

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Data Sources

Updated from official federal government data.

Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23

Frequently Asked Questions

Key economic and demographic figures for La Crosse County, Wisconsin, from federal data sources.

What is the population of La Crosse County, Wisconsin?

120,488 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the median household income in La Crosse County, Wisconsin?

$73,013 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in La Crosse County, Wisconsin?

2.8% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).

What is the GDP of La Crosse County, Wisconsin?

$9.9B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).