Best PlacesLa Crosse, GA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around La Crosse, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
La Crosse ranks 38,391st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in La Crosse
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.
La Crosse's strengths and weaknesses
Where La Crosse ranks high
- Cheap childcare$502 a month, better than 92% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 83% of towns
- QuietBetter than 77% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 76% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 74% of towns
Where La Crosse ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 11% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 12% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 14% of towns
- Household income$51,347 median, better than only 14% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 16% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in La Crosse
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median La Crosse home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,347, 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 La Crosse's effective rate of 0.89%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in La Crosse
La Crosse's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for La Crosse.
Who works in La Crosse, and how
Work in La Crosse centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in La Crosse
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across La Crosse.
What the weather is like in La Crosse, month by month
La Crosse sees roughly 89 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 49° | 40° |
| April | 79° | 66° | 55° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 81° | 68° | 58° |
Flying in and out of La Crosse
The nearest airport, Southwest Georgia Regional, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 101 miles away.
The best schools in and around La Crosse
Schools across La Crosse average a C−, better than 20% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Schley County Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Macon County Elementary SchoolF · 9% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sumter County Middle SchoolF · 9% proficient
- Macon County Middle SchoolF · 9% proficient
- Sumter County Intermediate SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Schley Middle High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Macon County High SchoolF · 7% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every La Crosse school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
La Crosse 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 La Crosse against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in La Crosse
Is La Crosse a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, La Crosse ranks 38,391st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, tree cover, and quiet, and lowest on air quality and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is La Crosse expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $133,942. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $51,347 median income, cost of living beats 14% of towns.
Is La Crosse safe?
Yes, La Crosse is safer than 66% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $256 per resident a year.
Compare La Crosse with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to La Crosse. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in La Crosse 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.
La Crosse detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for La Crosse: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in La Crosse: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of La Crosse: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in La Crosse: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
La Crosse 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.