French Island is a village and a census-designated place (CDP) in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, French Island CDP had a population of 4,284. It lies on an island of the same name, though they are not coextensive; a portion of the island is part of the city of La Crosse. All of the island is part of the La Crosse Metropolitan Statistical Area. French Island contains the entire population of the Village of French Island, because the balance of the village's territory is uninhabited.
History
On October 1, 2025, the Town of Campbell submitted a request to incorporate as the Village of French Island.
On May 19, 2026, residents of the Town of Campbell voted in favor of incorporating as the Village of French Island by a margin of 1493 votes for a village and 30 against a village.
On May 21, 2026, the Village of French Island was officially incorporated by the Wisconsin Department of Administration.
Geography
French Island is located in western La Crosse County. It is surrounded by waterways connected to the Mississippi River: French Slough, French Lake, and Lake Onalaska to the west, and the Black River and Richmond Bay to the east. Two parts of the dam forming Lake Onalaska on the Mississippi connect to French Island: one at the head of French Lake, and the other impounding the Black River.
The neighborhood of West La Crosse is in the southern part of the CDP.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the French Island CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 19.76%, are water.