The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in La Crosse County, WI
La Crosse County is home to 120,500 residents and includes La Crosse and Onalaska · Updated November 2026
Is La Crosse County, WI safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in La Crosse County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A, safer than the neighborhoods where 65% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within La Crosse County run from A+ to B-, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 894 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
65% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than La Crosse County as a whole, and 35% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. La Crosse County scores 894.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in La Crosse County, WI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in La Crosse County, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in La Crosse County
Theft stands out among A-graded counties. For the typical resident of an A-graded US county, the figure is 9.3 thefts a year per 1,000 residents; La Crosse County has 19.3.
Car thefts are uncommon. La Crosse County has car thefts at less than half the US rate: 0.87 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in La Crosse County
Every part of La Crosse County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across La Crosse County run from A+ to B-; 68% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in La Crosse County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the southeast side has the least crime and the southwest side the most.
Crime rates and types in La Crosse County
CrimeGrade™ estimates La Crosse County has about 34 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 10% less than the US as a whole and 37% more than Wisconsin.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft is the most common crime in La Crosse County, about 57% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in La Crosse County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across La Crosse County, 2022 to 2024.
In La Crosse County, 56% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 42% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (56%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (44%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (42%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (47%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (50%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How La Crosse County compares with nearby counties
La Crosse County has the most crime of its 10 nearest counties.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from La Crosse County. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, La Crosse County is safer than 66% of them.
Empty homes, jobs and walkability in La Crosse County
One thing sets La Crosse County apart: it has 3.5% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places like that tend to report less burglary and arson, and burglary runs low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.3.5% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 93% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.60 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 88% of Americans
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 70% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (23 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 74% of Americans
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 75% of Americans
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.72% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 69% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.14% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 55% of Americans
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs La Crosse County
Crime costs La Crosse County about $701 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 42% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $35 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $90 million a year, or $744 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$3.0 million
$25
Rape
$3.1 million
$25
Robbery
$440,000
$4
Assault
$9.8 million
$82
Burglary
$1.7 million
$14
Theft
$12 million
$99
Vehicle theft
$1.6 million
$13
Arson
$82,000
$1
Vandalism
$3.4 million
$29
Total
$35 million
$291
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in La Crosse County means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in La Crosse County, WI average a SchoolGrade of C+: 43% of students test proficient, against 49% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in La Crosse County on SchoolGrade
