Best Small Places for Business and Careers 2019

La Crosse, WI

La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN
the place image

La Crosse, WI

La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN
gross metro product
$8.8B
population
136.8K
median household income
$58,762
median home price
$178,000
cost of living
13% below nat'l avg
college attainment
30.4%
net migration
10 (year: 2018)
unemployment
2.8%
major industries
Technology, Health care
job growth
0.2% (year: 2018)
As of October 2019
La Crosse remains the largest city on Wisconsin's western border, and the educational institutions in the city have recently led it toward becoming a regional technology and medical hub. La Crosse is home to three regional colleges and universities. These include the public University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Western Technical College, as well as the Roman Catholic Viterbo University. The Health Science Center is a combined effort of all the La Crosse medical centers, universities and government agencies to advance
students in the medical fields. La Crosse is the original home and international headquarters of several businesses, including, City Brewing Company (former Heileman Old Style brewery), Kwik Trip, a chain of gas and convenience stores, Logistics Health Incorporated, and Trane, an air conditioning company, acquired by Ingersoll-Rand in 2008.
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On forbes lists
#50
Best Small Places for Business and Careers 2019
#100
In Cost of Doing Business
#139
In Job Growth
#50
In Education
By The Numbers
EmploymentHousingEducationQuality of Life
Job Growth
0.2% (year: 2018)
Projected Annual Job Growth
0.6%
Unemployment
2.8%
Median Household Income
$58,762
Household Income Growth
3.4%
High-Tech Employment
0.8%
  • Data is for the metro area
  • Sources: Moody's Analytics; Sperling's BestPlaces; U.S. Census.
  • Numbers as of October 2019


  • a - Value of 100 means that a family with the median income has exactly enough income to qualify for a typical mortgage on a median-priced single-family home. An index above 100 signifies that the family has surplus income.
Explore Trends
2018
2018
Key Connections
People
Graphic of Ken Schmocker
Ken Schmocker
Companies
Graphic of Kwik Trip/Kwik Star
Kwik Trip/Kwik Star
Graphic of Gundersen Health System
Gundersen Health System
Top Colleges
Graphic of University of Wisconsin, La Crosse
University of Wisconsin, La Crosse

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