Demographics of La Crosse city, Wisconsin

La Crosse city, Wisconsin had 50,784 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: −1,896 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

La Crosse city, in four figures

50,784
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate. The survey’s 2020–⁠2024 figure is 51,356 ±92.; −3.6%
Change since July 2020: −1,896 people.; 30.5 ±0.7
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $55,866 ±$3,428
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. The Bureau publishes no births, deaths or migration for a place, so the change is the difference between one July estimate and the next.

La Crosse city, Wisconsin's population shrank 3.6% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of La Crosse city, Wisconsin's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

La Crosse city, Wisconsin's population shrank 3.6% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of La Crosse city, Wisconsin's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	52,680	100.0	100.0
2021	50,681	96.2	100.2
2022	51,223	97.2	100.7
2023	51,298	97.4	101.6
2024	51,049	96.9	102.5
2025	50,784	96.4	103.1

Population of La Crosse city, Wisconsin on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change
2020	52,680	—
2021	50,681	−1,999
2022	51,223	+542
2023	51,298	+75
2024	51,049	−249
2025	50,784	−265

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 30.5 ±0.7: for men 31.8 ±1.8 and for women 29.4 ±1.2. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in La Crosse city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	Wisconsin	United States
Under 5	1,764 ±272	3.4% ±0.5	5.3% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	5,729 ±525	11.2% ±1.0	16.0% ±0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	13,872 ±913	27.0% ±1.8	9.3% ±0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	12,454 ±700	24.3% ±1.4	25.2% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	8,743 ±626	17.0% ±1.2	25.6% ±0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	8,794 ±701	17.1% ±1.4	18.5% ±0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $55,866 ±$3,428, and income per person $34,439 ±$1,937, in 2024 dollars. The median is $77,485 ±$455 in Wisconsin and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in La Crosse city by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	Wisconsin	United States
Under $25,000	4,651 ±620	20.3% ±2.7	13.1% ±0.2	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	5,726 ±641	24.9% ±2.7	17.9% ±0.2	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	4,381 ±507	19.1% ±2.2	17.5% ±0.2	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	3,021 ±380	13.2% ±1.6	13.8% ±0.2	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	2,919 ±327	12.7% ±1.4	19.1% ±0.2	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	1,228 ±216	5.3% ±0.9	9.4% ±0.1	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	1,039 ±265	4.5% ±1.1	9.2% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in La Crosse city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	Wisconsin	United States
All ages	10,109 ±815	21.4% ±1.7	10.6% ±0.1	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	1,048 ±275	14.3% ±3.5	12.8% ±0.3	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	7,867 ±747	26.9% ±2.3	10.3% ±0.2	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	1,194 ±338	11.2% ±3.0	9.3% ±0.2	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in La Crosse city, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	La Crosse city	Wisconsin	United States
Housing units	24,404 ±464	2,778,572 ±1,533	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	94.1% ±1.4	89.2% ±0.2	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	5.9% ±1.5	10.8% ±0.2	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	46.1% ±2.2	67.8% ±0.3	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	53.9% ±2.1	32.2% ±0.2	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$210,100 ±$6,661	$266,500 ±$1,051	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$1,010 ±$39	$1,087 ±$4	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1965 ±3	1975 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in La Crosse city by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	Wisconsin	United States
Hispanic or Latino	1,724 ±290	3.4% ±0.6	8.0% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	44,470 ±550	86.6% ±1.1	78.6% ±0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	1,017 ±345	2.0% ±0.7	5.9% ±<0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	2,239 ±382	4.4% ±0.7	2.9% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	44 to 190	0.1% to 0.4%	0.5% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0 to 23	0% to < 0.1%	< 0.1% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	3 to 39	< 0.1% to 0.1%	0.3% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	1,768 ±442	3.4% ±0.9	3.7% ±0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in La Crosse city by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	Wisconsin	United States
Born in the state	35,619 ±907	69.4% ±1.8	70.3% ±0.1	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	13,909 ±945	27.1% ±1.8	23.6% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	463 ±161	0.9% ±0.3	0.9% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	1,365 ±272	2.7% ±0.5	5.2% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	964 ±228	1.9% ±0.4	2.5% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	401 ±163	0.8% ±0.3	2.7% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

La Crosse city among the places of Wisconsin

12th of 158 places of 5,000 or more by the survey’s 2020–2024 count. Every one is listed on the Wisconsin page.

Places of Wisconsin near La Crosse city in population, ACS 2020–2024
Place	ACS 2020–⁠2024
Waukesha city	71,233 ±71
Eau Claire city	70,322 ±382
Oshkosh city	66,729 ±44
Janesville city	66,030 ±50
West Allis city	59,612 ±32
La Crosse city	51,356 ±92
Sheboygan city	49,645 ±92
Wauwatosa city	48,529 ±43
Fond du Lac city	44,494 ±31
Brookfield city	41,273 ±43
New Berlin city	40,270 ±55

Elsewhere on the site

Reported crime in La Crosse city, Wisconsin

Rankings this appears in

No. 1 Places in Wisconsin by poverty rate
No. 58 Places in Wisconsin by foreign-born share
No. 58 Places in Wisconsin by Hispanic or Latino share
No. 70 Places in Wisconsin by median rent
No. 100 Places in Wisconsin by median home value
No. 104 Places in Wisconsin by per capita income

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026