AreaProfile

54603La Crosse, Wisconsin

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 54603.

69
Area Score
Top 26% of 3,833 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 33% of 4,073 published ZIP areas63
Growth3212th of 3,947 published ZIP areas31
Housing affordabilityTop 36% of 4,553 published ZIP areas85
Climate4300th of 4,621 published ZIP areas56
Physical resilienceTop 8% of 4,554 published ZIP areas92
AccessTop 37% of 4,623 published ZIP areas97
Economic stability2818th of 4,591 published ZIP areas54
The quick read

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

Population
13,738
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$52,012
Bottom 17% nationally
Density
1,550/sq mi
8.9 sq mi of land
Median age
38.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
La Crosse
Wisconsin
Metro area
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN
Nearest major airport
LSE
2 mi · La Crosse Rgnl
Median home value
$181,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

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.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$5,070$52,012Bottom 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,231$33,754Bottom 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate16.3%Top 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute18.1 minBottom 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher22.2%Bottom 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment27,441Bottom 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 force28,491Bottom 29%June 2026
Labor force participation66.3%Top 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$62,770Bottom 30%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$48,260Bottom 28%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.5%Top 33%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.7%Bottom 19%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202452k49k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $52,012 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Registered Nurses2,920$98,370
Retail Salespersons2,290$34,090
Home Health and Personal Care Aides2,130$37,140
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers2,100$60,300
Cashiers2,020$30,900
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,960$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.

Rent as a share of income
22.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$966
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$181,900
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.50Top 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate52.1%Bottom 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3927,246Top 22%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$36$966Bottom 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,695$181,900Bottom 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income22.3%Top 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate6.2%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 →
Development Momentum
31/ 100
Ranks 3212 of 3,947 published city profiles

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.

Units permitted
15
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.3
Bottom 9% nationally
Year over year
+50%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

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.

0°20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LA CROSSE MUNI AP, 1.5 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation35.2"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall46.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low11°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing56°F1991-2020 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

92 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are tornado, hail and lightning.

HailElevated
TornadoModerate
LightningModerate

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.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
La Crosse RgnlLSE2 mi8,742 ft
Rochester IntlRST62 mi9,034 ft
Chippewa Valley RgnlEAU71 mi8,101 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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Area Score
69
Your Score

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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory 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.

54603
La Crosse
Median household income
$52,012
vs
$55,866
Per capita income
$33,754
vs
$34,439
Population density
1,550/sq mi
vs
2,366/sq mi
Median home value
$181,900
vs
$210,100
Median gross rent
$966
vs
$1,010
Homeownership rate
52.1%
vs
46.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher
22.2%
vs
34.9%
Poverty rate
16.3%
vs
21.4%
Median age
38.6
vs
30.5

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.