Onalaska (town), Wisconsin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Onalaska, Wisconsin
Town
Onalaska Town Hall on Commerce Road just off of County OT, at Midway
Location of Onalaska, Wisconsin
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	La Crosse
Area
• Total	44.9 sq mi (116.3 km2)
• Land	37 sq mi (95.8 km2)
• Water	7.9 sq mi (20.5 km2)
Elevation	719 ft (219 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	5,623
• Density	140.8/sq mi (54.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s)	608
FIPS code	55-59950
GNIS feature ID	1583862

Onalaska is a town located in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, in the United States. In 2010, about 5,623 people lived there.

The City of Onalaska is next to the town. The village of Holmen also shares a border. You can find the area called Brice Prairie in the western part of the town. The small community of Midway is also part of the town. Onalaska (town) is part of the larger La Crosse area.

History of Onalaska Town

In June 2013, the leaders of Onalaska Town made a decision. They voted to become a village. They planned to call this new village Midway. The town hall is already located in the community of Midway.

This change was meant to stop nearby places from taking land. The village of Holmen and the City of Onalaska had been expanding. The town wanted to protect its own land. It was expected that Holmen would not agree with this plan.

Geography of Onalaska

Onalaska is a large area. It covers about 44.9 square miles (116.3 square kilometers). Most of this area is land.

About 37 square miles (95.8 square kilometers) is land. The rest, about 7.9 square miles (20.5 square kilometers), is water. This means about 17.59% of the town is covered by water.

Population and People in Onalaska

Let's look at the people living in Onalaska. In 2000, there were 5,210 people. They lived in 1,777 households. A household is a group of people living together. Most of these were families, about 1,503 of them.

The town had about 140.8 people per square mile (54.4 people per square kilometer). There were also 1,834 homes. This means there were about 49.6 homes per square mile (19.1 homes per square kilometer).

Most people in the town were White, about 97.02%. There were also people from other backgrounds. This included Asian, Native American, and African American people. About 0.6% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.

Families and Households

Many households in Onalaska had children. About 43.8% of homes had kids under 18 years old. Most households were married couples living together, around 75.7%.

Some homes had a female head of household without a husband. This was about 5.1%. About 15.4% of households were not families. This means they were individuals or groups of unrelated people.

Around 11.4% of all households were single people. About 3.2% of these were people aged 65 or older living alone. On average, there were 2.93 people in each household. For families, the average size was 3.17 people.

Age Groups in Onalaska

The population in Onalaska was spread across different age groups.

• About 30% of the people were under 18 years old.
• Around 6.7% were between 18 and 24 years old.
• The largest group, 31.6%, was between 25 and 44 years old.
• About 26.1% were between 45 and 64 years old.
• Only 5.6% were 65 years old or older.

The average age in the town was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were about 104.3 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were about 103.3 males.

Income Levels

In 2000, the average income for a household in Onalaska was $54,075. For families, the average income was $57,268. Males generally earned more than females. Males had an average income of $37,310, while females had $24,236.

The average income per person in the town was $19,887. A small number of families and people lived below the poverty line. This included about 2.7% of families and 3.8% of the total population. For those under 18, about 1% were below the poverty line. For those 65 or older, it was about 6.4%.