Best Places54644, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 54644, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
54644 ranks 6,719th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 54644
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
54644's strengths and weaknesses
Where 54644 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 54644 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,296 a month, better than only 16% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 54644
A household needs to earn about $77,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 54644 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $90,238, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 54644's effective rate of 1.18%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 54644
54644 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 54644.
Who works in 54644, and how
Work in 54644 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 54644
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 54644.
What the weather is like in 54644, month by month
54644 sees roughly 96 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 21° | 14° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 39° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 54644
The nearest airport, La Crosse Regional, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 122 miles away.
The best schools in and around 54644
Schools across 54644 average a B−, better than 51% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Bangor ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- West Salem ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Melrose-mindoro ElementaryB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Salem MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
- Holmen MiddleB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- West Salem HighC+ · 37% proficient
- Melrose-mindoro Junior/senior HighC · 32% proficient
- Holmen HighC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 54644 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
54644 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 54644 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 54644
Is 54644 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 54644 ranks 6,719th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low crime, and health care access, and lowest on internet speeds and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 54644 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $280,939. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $90,238 median income, cost of living beats 72% of zip codes.
Is 54644 safe?
Yes, 54644 is safer than 92% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $180 per resident a year.
Compare 54644 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 54644. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 54644 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
54644 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 54644: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 54644: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 54644: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 54644: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
54644 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.