More than 400,000 residents populate the area encompassed within a 50-mile radius of La Crosse, WI. The La Crosse metro area was named a top region for “Booming Job Growth” in Today’s Hot Job Targets in 2007, a “4-Star Logistics Metro” by Expansion Management in 2006 and a “Best Place for Doing Business in America” by Inc. Magazine in 2005.

Of the ten metropolitan areas in Wisconsin, the La Crosse region experienced the second-lowest unemployment rate as of August 2010. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development expects employment in this region of Western Wisconsin to rise 8.29% by 2016. La Crosse County’s per capital personal income (PCPI) figure ranked 28th highest among Wisconsin 72 counties in 2009. Additionally, as evidence of the superior health care in the area, La Crosse’s average annual hospital wage of $53,619 in 2009 was 18 percent higher than the statewide average.

A rich variety of higher education institutions in western Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa fuel a diverse and ever-expanding workforce throughout the region. Last year the southeast Minnesota area received $3 million in federal stimulus funds to increase economic opportunities. The northeast region of Iowa had a 6.1% unemployment rate for October 2010, which fell lower than the statewide and nationwide averages. Southeast Minnesota’s October 2010 unemployment rate was 5.9%, significantly lower than the statewide average of 7.0% and nationwide average of 9.6%.

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