Houlton is a very small place with an outsized location. It sits in the Town of St. Joseph, St. Croix County, directly across the St. Croix River from Stillwater, Minnesota, and close to Hudson. It is not a bustling town center. It is a quiet, wooded, small-acreage community where buyers get a Wisconsin address with the Minnesota side close at hand. Here is our guide to living in Houlton, WI.
The Setting
Technically, Houlton is an unincorporated community within the Town of St. Joseph, not a village with its own government. The 2020 census counted 377 residents in the Houlton area, and the town as a whole has fewer than 4,000. The Town of St. Joseph describes itself as an agricultural and small-acreage residential community of rolling hills, hardwoods, prairie and wetlands, about thirty square miles, between Stillwater and Hudson. Houlton is one of its two mixed-use districts. Wisconsin Highways 35 and 64 run through the area.
One practical point: the town has no centralized utilities. Homes and businesses use private wells and septic systems, which affects inspections, maintenance costs and financing.
Outdoors and Community
Houlton’s best amenities are outdoors. The St. Croix River Crossing Loop Trail, a 4.7-mile bike and pedestrian loop, crosses the Stillwater Lift Bridge and the newer St. Croix Crossing, with its Wisconsin trailhead at Houlton School Circle and Haggerty Street. The Houlton section includes a Lake St. Croix Overlook and interpretive panels. St. Joseph Town Park has 24 acres with ball fields, a pavilion and a mile of trails through restored prairie and wetlands. Homestead Park, an 80-acre county park, surrounds the northern half of Perch Lake, and Willow River State Park, with 2,891 acres, a nature center and Willow Falls views, is in the area. For dining and shopping, the nearest larger centers are Stillwater, across the river, and Hudson.
The Houlton Housing Market Right Now
Houlton is too small for Redfin-style market data, so please treat this section as a rough guide:
- Median sold price (RealtyTrac, September 2026): about $518,000, up about 6% from a year earlier
- Sample size: very small. The same source counts 23 transactions over the past year, so a single month’s median can swing sharply
- Days on market, sale-to-list ratio and price drops: not available at this level
In plain English, the town describes itself as a small-acreage community, and the price reflects the setting and the location next to Stillwater. We would never price a Houlton home off a single stat. Instead, we pull comparable sales across the Town of St. Joseph and the surrounding Hudson and Stillwater area and adjust for acreage, well and septic, and condition.
Schools
Houlton is in the Hudson School District, which Niche grades A overall and A for academics, with about 5,100 students and a 15:1 student-teacher ratio. On 2024-25 state tests, 47% of students were proficient in reading and 38% in math. One important local note: Houlton Elementary ranked 8th of 1,039 Wisconsin elementary schools on SchoolDigger for 2025-26, but the Hudson School Board voted 6-1 to close it, along with Willow River Elementary, before the 2026-27 school year because of budget pressure and falling enrollment. Attendance boundaries were redrawn, so please verify the assigned school for any Houlton address with the district.
Taxes and Costs
Ownwell reports a median effective rate of 1.20% for Houlton with a median bill of $4,809, compared with 1.40% for St. Croix County, though bills on newly purchased homes can run higher because assessments lag sale prices. Hudson comes in at 1.26% and $4,714. Wisconsin’s more reliable advantage is on state income tax, where the 2026 top rate is 7.65% versus 9.85% in Minnesota.
The Commute
Houlton’s commute is its strongest feature. Highway 64 connects to the St. Croix Crossing, a four-lane bridge that opened in August 2017 and links to Minnesota Highway 36 at Oak Park Heights. Stillwater is just across the river, and the loop trail gives you bike and walking access too, with county parking lots for the trail at Houlton.
Is Houlton Right for You?
Houlton fits buyers who want space, wooded lots and a Wisconsin address with Stillwater practically next door, and who are comfortable with wells and septic and with driving for groceries and dining. It is not for anyone who wants a walkable town center, municipal utilities or a school right in the neighborhood.
Let’s Talk About Your Move
Houlton homes are individual, and the right guidance matters more than any statistic. We will help you compare Houlton with Hudson, Somerset and Stillwater.
Thinking about Houlton? Get in touch with the Carchedi Group to start the conversation, or find out what your current home is worth if a move is on the table.
Market data from RealtyTrac as of September 2026 (limited sample); school data from Niche and local news reports; tax data from Ownwell; population from the 2020 census. Figures change monthly and are not a substitute for a current market analysis.
Explore More Communities We Serve
Comparing towns? Our other local guides cover the St. Croix Valley, the east metro and the North Metro in the same honest, data-first way:
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