La Crosse ( lə-KROSS) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. The population was 52,680 at the 2020 census, while the La Crosse–Onalaska metropolitan area has an estimated 140,000 residents. La Crosse's economy serves as a regional educational, medical, manufacturing, and transportation hub for Western Wisconsin producing a gross domestic product (GDP) of $9.7 billion as of 2022. The city is a college town with nearly 20,000 students and is home to the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, Viterbo University, and Western Technical College. Furthermore, the La Crosse area is home to the headquarters or regional offices of Kwik Trip, Organic Valley, Mayo Clinic, Gundersen Health System, Gensler, La Crosse Technology, City Brewing Company, and Trane. La Crosse County is a top ten tourist destination in the state with $433 million in travel-related spending generated in 2023.