TAYLORS FALLS, MN REALTOR · LOCAL GUIDE

LIVING IN TAYLORS FALLS

Taylors Falls grew up in the late 1830s as a logging and riverboat town on the St. Croix, named for early settler Jesse W. Taylor and the falls. It was platted around 1850 and incorporated in 1858. The logging era brought massive log jams on the river, including the famous jam of 1886, and the town is also home to the oldest public schoolhouse in Minnesota, built in 1852.

Many of the town’s early settlers came from New England, and it shows. About a third of the structures in Taylors Falls were built more than a century ago. The Angel Hill District is known for its late Greek Revival architecture, and the Folsom House and other historic homes cluster around Bench and River Streets. The public library is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

Interstate State Park, founded jointly by Minnesota and Wisconsin in 1895, wraps around the Dalles of the St. Croix with river views, glacial potholes, rock climbing, canoeing, kayaking, fishing and camping, and its 1930s stone buildings are on the National Register too. Each July, Taylors Falls and St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, team up for Wannigan Days, a two-town river celebration with music, food, parades and fireworks that reached its 68th year in 2026. The town also hosts a Lighting Festival.

US Highway 8 runs west from Taylors Falls about 22 miles to I-35, and Highway 95 heads south along the river through Scandia and Marine on St. Croix toward Stillwater. St. Paul and Minneapolis are each roughly 50 miles away, about an hour by car. Housing ranges from historic homes near downtown and Angel Hill to a mix of other homes around town, and with just over 1,000 residents, it’s a place where the river and the state park are part of everyday life.

TAYLORS FALLS AT A GLANCE

Population: 1,055
Size: 4.2 sq mi
Incorporated: 1858
Schools: Chisago Lakes ISD 2144
River: St. Croix River
Commute: US Hwy 8 · Hwy 95
County: Chisago
Summer festival: Wannigan Days
Drive to MSP Airport: about 75 minutes (56 miles), off-peak
Drive to Downtown Minneapolis: about 65 minutes (52 miles), off-peak
Drive to Downtown St. Paul: about 65 minutes (49 miles), off-peak

TAYLORS FALLS SCHOOLS

Taylors Falls is part of Chisago Lakes School District (ISD 2144). Younger students attend Taylors Falls Elementary right in town, and older students go on to Chisago Lakes Middle School and Chisago Lakes High School in Lindström, west on Highway 8. The district serves five communities across roughly 165 square miles of the Chisago Lakes area, so Taylors Falls students share middle and high schools with families from Center City, Shafer, Chisago City and Lindström. Having an elementary school right in town is a real convenience for a community this size.

What the percentages mean: the percentage beside each school below is the share of Taylors Falls’s children of that school’s age who live in its attendance area — ages 5–10 for elementary, 11–13 for middle and 14–17 for high school (about 73, 54 and 55 children in the 2020 Census). District percentages use all children ages 5–17. It shows where the city’s kids are assigned; it is not a test score or a rating. Students per grade is each school’s 2025–26 enrollment divided by the number of grades it serves.

School districts serving Taylors Falls: Chisago Lakes (ISD 2144) — all of the city’s school-age children.

HOW TAYLORS FALLS’S SCHOOL DISTRICTS COMPARE STATEWIDE

Chisago Lakes (ISD 2144): reading 54% and math 52% proficient on the 2025–26 state tests — test-score rank #76 of 326 Minnesota districts; 4-year graduation rate 94% (class of 2025), #120 of 317

Proficient = share of tested students who met or exceeded Minnesota’s grade-level standards (MCA, MTAS and Alternate MCA, all tested grades). Test-score rank = position among Minnesota school districts (charter schools not included) by the average of reading and math proficiency; school ranks compare each school with all Minnesota public schools at the same level. Ranks are calculated by Minnesota Chuck from Minnesota Department of Education data and are not an official state rating.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS SERVING TAYLORS FALLS

Taylors Falls Elementary: Chisago Lakes (ISD 2144) — all of Taylors Falls’s children that age; grades K–5, about 55 students per grade; reading 49%, math 46% proficient (2025–26), #471 of 893 Minnesota elementary schools

MIDDLE SCHOOLS SERVING TAYLORS FALLS

Chisago Lakes Middle School: Chisago Lakes (ISD 2144) — all of Taylors Falls’s children that age; grades 6–8, about 244 students per grade; reading 63%, math 62% proficient (2025–26), #27 of 264 Minnesota middle schools

HIGH SCHOOLS SERVING TAYLORS FALLS

Chisago Lakes High School: Chisago Lakes (ISD 2144) — all of Taylors Falls’s children that age; grades 9–12, about 249 students per grade; reading 35%, math 29% proficient (2025–26), #277 of 435 Minnesota high schools; 4-year graduation 94%

Sources: Minnesota Department of Education, School Attendance Areas, SY2025-26; Minnesota Department of Education 2025–26 assessment results and graduation rates (Minnesota Report Card); U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census (children by age, by census block); Minnesota Department of Education 2025–26 enrollment. Boundaries can change, so confirm the assigned school with the district for a specific address.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What school district is Taylors Falls, MN in?

Taylors Falls is in Chisago Lakes School District (ISD 2144). Taylors Falls Elementary serves younger students right in town, and middle and high school students attend Chisago Lakes Middle School and Chisago Lakes High School in Lindström. I can help you confirm school assignments for any address you’re considering.

What county is Taylors Falls in?

Taylors Falls is in Chisago County, on the eastern edge of the county where the St. Croix River forms the border with Wisconsin. St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, sits directly across the river, and the county seat, Center City, is about a 15-minute drive west on US Highway 8.

How far is Taylors Falls from Minneapolis, St. Paul and MSP Airport?

Driving from the center of Taylors Falls at off-peak times, downtown Minneapolis is about 52 miles (roughly 65 minutes), downtown St. Paul is about 49 miles (roughly 65 minutes) and MSP Airport is about 56 miles (roughly 75 minutes). Rush-hour traffic adds time, and drives vary with which part of Taylors Falls you start from.

What is there to do in Taylors Falls?

Interstate State Park offers hiking, rock climbing, canoeing, kayaking, glacial potholes and camping along the Dalles of the St. Croix. The Angel Hill District and Folsom House showcase the town’s history, and Wannigan Days, shared with St. Croix Falls, brings music, parades and fireworks each July.

Is Taylors Falls a good place to buy a home?

Taylors Falls offers a historic river-town setting, a state park at its doorstep, an elementary school in town and Chisago Lakes schools, with an hour-or-so commute to the metro. Many homes are older, so condition matters. I’ll help you evaluate each property and price it carefully before you make a move.

NEARBY CITIES I SERVE

Shafer · Center City · Lindström · Chisago City · Scandia · North Branch · Wyoming · Marine on St. Croix

Thinking about buying or selling in Taylors Falls? Use the form at the top of this page, or call or text me at 763-218-2573. — Chuck Glasser, Realtor®, RE/MAX Results