Bloomington → La Crosse-Onalaska
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Pros of Moving
- + 3% lower cost of living
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - More environmental violations
Moving from Bloomington to La Crosse-Onalaska shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 95.1 to 91.8 (100 = US average), so a Bloomington salary needs to be multiplied by 0.97 to hold the same purchasing power in La Crosse-Onalaska. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,210/month in Bloomington to $1,166/month in La Crosse-Onalaska - a lower monthly bill of $44, or $528/year. That rent delta alone is often the single biggest line item when relocating.
Wages tell the other half. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a median salary of $64,582 in Bloomington versus $65,600 in La Crosse-Onalaska - a raw gap of $1,018 higher. The La Crosse-Onalaska labor market has 78,110 tracked jobs against 63,280 in Bloomington, shaping how easy it is to find a comparable role. Combine that with the cost-of-living shift above and you get the real purchasing-power delta, sometimes a "higher salary" is actually a pay cut once rent and RPP are applied.
Safety, schools, and childcare round out the move. FBI UCR violent crime rates near Bloomington and La Crosse-Onalaska are 308 and 280 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 15.9:1 at origin versus 14.4:1 at destination. Our composite verdict - Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Bloomington to see what you'd need to earn in La Crosse-Onalaska to maintain the same purchasing power.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026
Data Sources
- Cost of Living: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR)
- Wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES)
- Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - state level
- Schools: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
- Childcare: Department of Labor (DOL) - state level
- Environment: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.