La Crosse County

Key demographics – La Crosse County, Wisconsin

Population size

• Total population: 120,784 (2020 Census)
• 2023 estimate: ~121–122k (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2023/ACS)

Age

• Median age: ~36–37 years (ACS 2019–2023)
• Age distribution (ACS 2019–2023):
  • Under 18: ~19%
  • 18–24: ~16% (elevated due to colleges)
  • 25–44: ~26%
  • 45–64: ~22%
  • 65 and over: ~17%

Gender

• Female: ~50–51%
• Male: ~49–50% (ACS 2019–2023)

Race and ethnicity (ACS 2019–2023; Hispanic can be any race)

• White (non-Hispanic): ~86–88%
• Asian: ~5–6% (notably Hmong)
• Black or African American: ~1.5–2%
• American Indian and Alaska Native: ~0.5–1%
• Two or more races: ~4–5%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race): ~2.5–3.5%

Households (ACS 2019–2023)

• Households: ~49–50k
• Average household size: ~2.3 persons
• Family households: ~53–55% of households
• Married-couple households: ~40–42% of households
• Nonfamily households: ~45–47%
• Homeownership rate: ~59–62% (owner-occupied share)
• Households with someone age 65+: ~24–27%

Insights

• The county has a younger-than-state-average profile driven by university enrollment, lifting the 18–24 share and renter share.
• Racial diversity is modest overall, with the Asian (largely Hmong) community as the largest non-White group.
• Homeownership and average household size are slightly below Wisconsin’s statewide averages.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; American Community Survey (ACS) 2019–2023 5-year tables DP05, S0101, S1101; Census Population Estimates (Vintage 2023). Numbers shown rounded to emphasize signal over sampling error.

La Crosse County, WI email usage snapshot

• Population and density: 120,784 residents (2020 Census); ≈267 people per sq. mile.
• Estimated email users: ≈95,000–100,000 residents. Method: ~92% of adults use email (Pew Research), applied to the county’s adult population plus high teen adoption.
• Age distribution of email users (est.): 13–17: 4%; 18–24: 16% (UW–La Crosse and Viterbo drive this); 25–44: 34%; 45–64: 28%; 65+: 18%. Most usage concentrates in working ages, with strong student participation and steadily rising senior adoption.
• Gender split: ≈51% female, 49% male among users, mirroring county demographics and near-parity email adoption by gender nationally.
• Digital access and trends (ACS Computer & Internet Use; regional providers): ~93–95% of households have a computer; ~87–90% have a broadband subscription. Smartphone-only internet households are in the low teens percent and growing. Broadband subscription rates and speeds have risen since 2018, with cable and fiber dominating in La Crosse/Onalaska and fixed wireless filling rural gaps.
• Connectivity facts: Urban areas along the I‑90 corridor have widespread 200 Mbps–1 Gbps service via cable/fiber; rural townships see more variability but improving coverage through recent state/federal investments. Public libraries and campuses provide robust free Wi‑Fi, supporting access for students and lower-income households.

Summary of mobile phone usage in La Crosse County, Wisconsin (with county–vs–state contrasts)

Headline estimates (2024, modeled from the latest available federal datasets)

• Smartphone users in La Crosse County: about 95,000–102,000 residents actively using a smartphone (roughly 79–84% of total population). Basis: 2020 Census population baseline (~121,000) combined with age‑specific smartphone adoption rates from recent national surveys applied to La Crosse’s younger age mix.
• Mobile‑only (wireless‑only) phone households: materially higher than the state average, driven by the county’s large 18–29 student and renter population. Wisconsin’s wireless‑only share is high by national standards; La Crosse County’s is higher still due to its demographic profile.
• Household smartphone access: above the Wisconsin average. American Community Survey patterns for college‑anchored counties indicate a higher share of households with a smartphone and with a cellular data plan than the state overall.

What differs from Wisconsin overall

• Younger skew lifts mobile dependence:
  • La Crosse County’s population includes a large concentration of 18–29 year‑olds (UW–La Crosse, Western Technical College, Viterbo). This pushes smartphone penetration, mobile messaging, and app‑centric behaviors above the statewide norm and raises the share of mobile‑only phone households.
  • Practical effect: more prepaid/MVNO lines, more device churn/upgrades, and heavier use of mobile hotspots among students and renters than the Wisconsin average.
• Urban–rural split is sharper for coverage experience:
  • In the city of La Crosse, Onalaska, and along the I‑90/US‑53 corridors, 5G mid‑band coverage and capacity are strong. In ridge/valley terrain to the east and southeast, signal attenuation and shadowing are noticeably worse than the statewide average, creating pockets where LTE is dominant and 5G is intermittent.
  • Result: county residents report a wider gap in on‑network speeds and indoor coverage between urban core and rural townships than typical Wisconsin counties on flatter terrain.
• Carrier mix differs:
  • UScellular retains a larger share of lines in La Crosse County than in many Wisconsin metros due to long‑standing presence in the Driftless Area and comparatively dense rural coverage. T‑Mobile’s mid‑band 5G is highly competitive in the urbanized corridor; Verizon’s C‑band and AT&T’s FirstNet footprint give them strong enterprise/public‑safety positions.
• Higher uptake of mobile as primary home internet:
  • T‑Mobile Home Internet and other 5G fixed‑wireless services have above‑average penetration among off‑campus student housing and renter‑heavy neighborhoods, substituting for cable/fiber more often than the statewide norm. Rural households in valleys also use mobile hotspots more as a complement or fallback to legacy DSL.
• Cross‑border mobility patterns matter more:
  • Regular movement across the Mississippi River (Minnesota) and along I‑90 increases roaming/partner coverage importance versus the typical Wisconsin county, nudging some users toward carriers with stronger tri‑state performance.

Demographic breakdown (mobile–relevant)

• Age: The outsized 18–29 cohort has near‑universal smartphone adoption and heavy app/social/video use; 30–64 aligns with state norms; 65+ adoption is rising but still trails younger cohorts, with more voice/SMS‑centric use and larger reliance on simpler devices.
• Tenure and income: Higher renter share and student‑affected incomes correlate with:
  • Greater reliance on prepaid/MVNO plans and family plans.
  • More mobile‑only households and mobile‑first banking, commerce, and telehealth usage compared with state averages.
• Workforce/sector mix: Healthcare, education, logistics, and retail drive sustained daytime mobile traffic in the urban core; agriculture and outdoor recreation drive seasonal peaks in rural sectors and along riverfront parks and trailheads.

Digital infrastructure highlights

• Network availability:
  • 5G coverage from all three national carriers is established across the urbanized corridor (La Crosse, Onalaska, Holmen) with mid‑band layers (n41/n77) delivering typical 100–400 Mbps outdoor speeds where available; LTE remains the coverage safety net in valleys and at the county fringe.
  • UScellular provides notable rural fill‑in and has competitive LTE/5G NSA coverage east of the river bluffs.
• Terrain impacts:
  • The Driftless Area’s ridge‑and‑valley topography creates shadow zones and irregular cell footprints; indoor performance in bluff‑adjacent neighborhoods depends heavily on proximity to sites and in‑home solutions (Wi‑Fi calling, femtocells).
• Backhaul and corridors:
  • Strong fiber and microwave backhaul follow I‑90, US‑53, and WI‑16, supporting higher site density and capacity in these corridors than in outlying townships.
• Public safety and institutions:
  • FirstNet (AT&T) coverage is prioritized at major medical campuses (Gundersen, Mayo Clinic Health System) and university grounds; event‑based capacity boosts are common during collegiate sports and riverfront festivals.

Usage patterns and behaviors (compared with Wisconsin)

• Higher video and social consumption per user in the 18–29 segment; more reliance on Wi‑Fi offload on campus and in multifamily housing.
• Above‑average adoption of contactless payments, app‑based transit/parking, and campus apps; slightly below‑average use of landline or cable‑bundled voice.
• Customer churn and plan switching run higher around academic calendar periods than the state norm, reflecting student moves.

Notes on methodology and data confidence

• Population base: 2020 Census for La Crosse County (~121k). Age structure and household characteristics draw from recent ACS releases; smartphone adoption rates and wireless‑only household tendencies use recent national/state survey benchmarks (e.g., ACS S2801, Pew Research, NHIS) apportioned to La Crosse’s known demographic skew.
• Because federal sources do not publish a single “county smartphone users” count, user totals are modeled estimates; comparative statements (county vs state) are robust given the county’s atypically young population, renter mix, and terrain‑constrained radio environment.

Key takeaways

• La Crosse County exceeds the Wisconsin average in smartphone penetration and mobile‑only reliance due to its large student/renter base.
• Coverage and performance vary more sharply within the county than statewide because of complex terrain, yielding excellent 5G capacity in the core and persistent LTE‑dominant pockets in valleys.
• Carrier market shares tilt more toward UScellular (rural) and T‑Mobile (urban mid‑band) than the statewide pattern, with Verizon and AT&T strong in enterprise/public safety.

La Crosse County, WI social media snapshot (2025)

How these numbers were built: County adult base ≈97,000 (out of ~121,000 residents). Platform reach is estimated by applying 2024 U.S. adoption rates (Pew Research) to the county’s adult base; figures are rounded and non‑exclusive (people use multiple platforms).

Overall reach

• Adults using at least one social platform: ~83% ≈ 80,000

Most‑used platforms (adult reach)

• YouTube: ~83% ≈ 80,000
• Facebook: ~68% ≈ 66,000
• Instagram: ~47% ≈ 46,000
• TikTok: ~33% ≈ 32,000
• LinkedIn: ~31% ≈ 30,000
• Pinterest: ~30% ≈ 29,000
• Snapchat: ~27% ≈ 26,000
• X (Twitter): ~22% ≈ 21,000
• Reddit: ~22% ≈ 21,000

Age patterns (penetration; applied locally)

• 18–29: YouTube ~93%, Instagram ~78%, Snapchat ~65%, TikTok ~62%, Facebook ~32%
• 30–49: YouTube ~92%, Facebook ~69%, Instagram ~49%, TikTok ~39%, LinkedIn ~40%
• 50–64: YouTube ~83%, Facebook ~73%, Pinterest ~40%, Instagram ~29%, LinkedIn ~28%
• 65+: Facebook ~45%, YouTube ~49%, Pinterest ~18% (Instagram/TikTok lower teens or single digits)

Gender breakdown

• Overall user mix mirrors county population: ~51% female, ~49% male
• Platform skews (reflecting U.S. patterns, likely mirrored locally):
  • More women: Pinterest (~70%+ women), Facebook (slight female majority), Instagram (slight female majority), TikTok (moderate female tilt)
  • More men: Reddit (strong male majority), X/Twitter (male majority), LinkedIn (slight male majority)
  • YouTube: broadly balanced

Behavioral trends in La Crosse County

• Facebook remains the “local utility”: heavy use of Groups and Marketplace for community info, buy/sell, housing, and events (Oktoberfest, Riverfest, Coulee Region sports); strongest among 30+ and suburban households (Onalaska, Holmen).
• Student‑driven platforms: Snapchat and TikTok see high daily use among UW–La Crosse, Viterbo, and Western Technical College populations (messaging, Stories, campus life, nightlife).
• Short‑form video is the content engine: TikTok and Instagram Reels lead discovery for restaurants, breweries, outdoor spots (Grandad Bluff, riverfront), and local creators; businesses repurpose to YouTube Shorts.
• Private-by-default communication: under‑30s favor Snapchat/IG DMs; public posting shifts toward events, highlights, and achievements rather than day‑to‑day updates.
• Visual authenticity over polish: local eateries and venues perform best with timely, informal behind‑the‑scenes content, daily specials, and user‑generated clips.
• Facebook + Instagram pairing is standard for small businesses; boosted posts and event listings drive attendance more reliably than organic posting alone.
• LinkedIn engagement is concentrated in healthcare, education, and public sector employers (Gundersen, Mayo Clinic Health System, school districts); recruitment and professional updates outperform brand content.
• Timing: weekday lunch and 7–9 p.m. are consistent peak windows; late‑night engagement skews younger; weekend mornings perform well for event discovery and family activities.

Key takeaways

• Penetration is broad (≈8 in 10 adults), with Facebook and YouTube as reach anchors.
• Under 30: Snapchat/Instagram/TikTok are essential for frequency and influence.
• Over 30: Facebook dominates for local information, commerce, and events; Pinterest is meaningful for planning, food, and home content.
• Cross‑posting short video across TikTok, Reels, and Shorts maximizes discovery; pairing Facebook Groups/Events with Instagram Stories is the most reliable local activation play.