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Taylors Falls, Minnesota

Taylors Falls is a small town of about 1,100 people in Chisago County, Minnesota. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.1 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Minneapolis, is about 42 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,054
up 0.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$275,200
Chisago County prices up 9.6% since 2022
Household income
$67,885
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Minneapolis area
104.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
St. Croix Regional Medical Center
To Minneapolis
42 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.8% above the U.S. average in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Taylors Falls itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Saint Croix Falls High, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySt. Croix Regional Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMinneapolis is about 42 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Taylors Falls meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$275,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 9.6%Chisago County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,074 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$67,885U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
81%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,100 a yearMinnesota: $3,357
Homes built before 1940
29%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
6%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
104.8U.S. average = 100 (the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 9.6% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area, not Taylors Falls alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,0542020: 1,049
Median age
40.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
24%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (21%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (14%); professional and business services (14%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
33 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
12%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
5%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Croix Regional Medical Center, Saint Croix Falls, WI, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Fairview Lakes Health Services, Wyoming, MN, about 17 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Taylors Falls, run by Chisago Lakes School District. The nearest public high school is Saint Croix Falls High, about 2 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Minnesota's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
93%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
3°F
July average high
82°F
Days 90°F or hotter
11 a year
Nights at or below freezing
169 a year
Rain and melted snow
30.5 inches a year
Snow
43 inches a year
Elevation
1,061 feet

Weather station: St Croix Falls (1 mile away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Blaine, Minneapolis.

Chisago County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Angel's Hill Historic District, the Franconia Historic District, Interstate State Park CCC/WPA/Rustic Style Campground and the Interstate State Park WPA/Rustic Style Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway1 mile
  • Lower Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway1 mile
  • Mississippi National River and Recreation Area35 miles

Read about Taylors Falls's history on Wikipedia.

Know Taylors Falls?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Dresser, WI930 people, 3 miles
  • Centuria, WI877 people, 6 miles
  • Center City, MN634 people, 7 miles
  • Milltown, WI932 people, 12 miles
  • Balsam Lake, WI945 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.