Fort McCoy is located in between the communities of Sparta and Tomah, in Monroe County, Wisconsin. Sparta has a population of 9,600 people, while Tomah has about 9,090 people. The nearest large city is La Crosse, population 51,645, about 45 minutes west of base.

Local Rental Housing Prices: The average price to rent a home in Sparta ranges from $345 to $540, with a median of about $425 a month. The average price in Tomah ranges from $375 to $645, with a monthly median of $560.

Local Purchase Housing Prices: The average price to purchase a home in the Sparta-Tomah area is about $104,000, compared to $169,400 for Wisconsin.

Short Description of the Area: Sparta is known as the Bicycling Capital of America and is just west of base while Tomah is just east of base. This area is located in the southwestern half of the state, close to the Mississippi River which acts as a state line between Minnesota-Wisconsin and Iowa-Wisconsin. The capital city is Madison, which is about 2 hours southeast of base. Milwaukee is another 45 minutes east of Madison and is situated on Lake Michigan.

Climate and Weather: This area of Wisconsin experiences a continental climate, meaning there is a large change in temperature from summer to winter months. July can see temperatures in the 80s (Fahrenheit) while January averages temps in the 20s, sometimes closer to 0 degrees. There is a significant average amount of snow every winter, nearly 40 inches, and about 33 inches of precipitation over the summer months. The chance of tornado is slightly less than that of Wisconsin but just about the same as the national average risk. It is always a good idea to be prepared for storms in the Midwest.