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Small town

Living in French Island, WI

French Island is a small town of 4,188 people in La Crosse County, Wisconsin. It's about 3 miles from La Crosse, WI and 125 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 84°F and winter highs 27°F, with about 43 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $207k and rent runs about $1k a month.

4,188people
$207kTypical home
$1,030/moRent
84° / 27°Summer / winter
43"Snow
224Sunny days
123Rain/snow days

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Size & setting

  • Small town of 4,188
  • Part of a metro area
  • About 2,072 people per sq mi
  • 125 mi to Minneapolis, MN
  • 3 mi to La Crosse, WI
  • 3 mi to the nearest town of 10k+

Money

  • Typical home $207k (≈$1,306/mo)
  • Median rent $1,030/mo
  • Median household income $60k
  • Property tax about 1.6% of value
  • 11.0% unemployment

Weather

  • Summer highs around 84°F
  • Winter highs around 27°F
  • Somewhat humid summers (dew point 61°F)
  • 224 sunny days a year (74 totally clear)
  • 141 cloudy days a year
  • 43 of 90 winter days are gray
  • 123 days a year with rain or snow
  • 43" of snow a year
  • 13 days a year with 1"+ of snow
  • Rarely hits 100°F
  • 38 nights a year below 10°F
  • Breezy

Safety

  • Low violent crime (210 per 100k), county-wide
  • About average property crime (1,932 per 100k), county-wide

People

  • Median age 48
  • 20% of households have kids
  • 21% are 65 or older
  • 25% have a college degree
  • Not very diverse
  • 2% of residents are college students

Getting around & homes

  • Average commute 18 min
  • 3% walk or take transit to work
  • 1 mi to LSE airport
  • 120 mi to MSP (major hub)
  • 76 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
  • 80% single-family homes
  • Typical home built around 1975
  • 94% of homes have broadband

Outdoors

  • Gently rolling terrain
  • Elevation 653 ft
  • 688 mi to the ocean
  • 60 mi to a big lake
  • 4 mi to the nearest trailhead
  • 9 mi to the nearest ski area
  • 6 mi to the nearest campground
  • 19 golf courses within 25 mi

Things to do

  • 148 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
  • 121 bars within 25 mi
  • 49 coffee shops within 25 mi
  • 2 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
  • 19 museums within 25 mi
  • 4 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
  • 43 mi to the nearest farmers market

Everyday

  • Schools in the bottom 46% of Wisconsin districts (reading)
  • 3 mi to the nearest grocery store
  • 7 mi to the nearest ER hospital
  • 7 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
  • 7 mi to the nearest vet
  • 3 mi to the nearest dog park
  • 7 congregations per 10k people
  • 3 mi to the nearest college

Politics

  • La Crosse County: D+9 in 2024
  • Wisconsin: Purple — split almost evenly

Natural hazards

  • Very low hurricane risk
  • Moderate tornado risk
  • Very low wildfire risk
  • Very low earthquake risk
  • High flood risk
  • Very low drought risk
  • High winter storm risk
  • Low heat wave risk
  • Very low volcano risk

Places near French Island

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