54603 — La Crosse, Wisconsin
Area Profile
Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 54603.
Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published ZIP profiles, placing 54603 in the top 8% for physical resilience.
A major airport is 2 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.
Its Area Score of 69 places 54603 in the top 26% of published ZIP profiles.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 3.7% is lower than 81% of the 4,387 measured US ZIP areas.
Employment grew 1.4% over the past year, to 27,441 employed residents.
Median household income of $52,012 is below 83% of measured US ZIP areas.
| Metric | Value | Compared with peers | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income ±$5,070 | $52,012 | Bottom 17% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$3,231 | $33,754 | Bottom 40% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate | 16.3% | Top 27% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute | 18.1 min | Bottom 8% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 22.2% | Bottom 47% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Employment | 27,441 | Bottom 30% | June 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years) | 0.8% | Top 39% | June 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year) | 1.4% | Top 7% | June 2026 |
| Labor force | 28,491 | Bottom 29% | June 2026 |
| Labor force participation | 66.3% | Top 27% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wage | $62,770 | Bottom 30% | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wage | $48,260 | Bottom 28% | 2025 OEWS |
| Unemployment change (year over year) | 0.5% | Top 33% | June 2026 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.7% | Bottom 19% | June 2026 |
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | 2,920 | $98,370 |
| Retail Salespersons | 2,290 | $34,090 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 2,130 | $37,140 |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 2,100 | $60,300 |
| Cashiers | 2,020 | $30,900 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 1,960 | $28,280 |
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for La Crosse, WI, the city containing this ZIP code.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated →Median rent of $966 takes 22% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.
A median home costs 3.5 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.
| Metric | Value | Compared with peers | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price to income | 3.50 | Top 39% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate | 52.1% | Bottom 10% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±392 | 7,246 | Top 22% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median gross rent ±$36 | $966 | Bottom 45% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$14,695 | $181,900 | Bottom 39% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income | 22.3% | Top 24% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate | 6.2% | Bottom 29% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated →An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.
At 0.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas.
The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for La Crosse, WI, the city containing this ZIP code.
Weather & climate
5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 11°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 35.2 inches, including 46.3 inches of snow.
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation | 35.2" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall | 46.3" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low | 11°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high | 85°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing | 56°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are tornado, hail and lightning.
Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, landslide, heat wave, strong wind, inland flooding, winter weather, ice storm, drought, earthquake, wildfire.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
Taxes
AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.
Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.
Access
3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 2 miles away.
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Crosse Rgnl | LSE | 2 mi | 8,742 ft |
| Rochester Intl | RST | 62 mi | 9,034 ft |
| Chippewa Valley Rgnl | EAU | 71 mi | 8,101 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Similar places
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Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle | 28-day NASR cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) | Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current) |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals | Every ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period) |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | June 2026 | Monthly |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS | Annual (spring release) |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate | Annual (vintage released each spring) |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 | Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month |
| Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year | Annual (5-year estimates released each December) |
| schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school year | Directory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them |
Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.
54603 vs La Crosse
How this ZIP area compares with La Crosse as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.
Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.