Prior Lake vs Savage MN

By Mark Gores · Updated Oct. 2, 2026

I’ve lived in Prior Lake since 1986 and sold homes in both cities for 22 years. Prior Lake and Savage share a border, a lot of the same stores and, for part of Savage, a school district. Here’s how they line up.

At a glance

Population: Metropolitan Council estimates and forecasts. The Census Bureau’s July 2025 estimates are 28,140 for Prior Lake and 32,970 for Savage. Home figures: from the MLS via priorlake.realestate, late September 2026. Crime: FBI; the national rate in 2024 was 359 per 100,000.

Based on information from the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Inc. for the period September 28, 2023 through September 28, 2026: home sales in Prior Lake and Savage. Data believed to be accurate but should be independently verified.

Downtown Prior Lake to Savage City Hall is about 8 miles, about 15 minutes without traffic.

Schools

Most of Prior Lake is in Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools (ISD 719); part of the north side is in Shakopee Public Schools (ISD 720). Prior Lake-Savage started the 2026-27 school year with 8,357 students. It has six elementary schools, two middle schools, Prior Lake High School, Bridges Area Learning Center and Edgewood for early learning. New K-5 boundaries took effect this fall, when WestWood closed as a neighborhood school. The district says it was the first in Minnesota to run E-STEM in every school.

Voters turned down the district’s operating levy in November 2024, and it cut staff and electives for 2025-26. Two levy questions are on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot: a new operating levy, and a capital projects levy that counts only if the first one passes. The school referendum page lays out both.

Savage is split. About half of the city, mostly the north side, is in Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District (ISD 191). Most of the south side is in Prior Lake-Savage, and a small corner of the city is in Shakopee (ISD 720). Prior Lake High School sits in Savage, and so do Glendale, Hamilton Ridge and Redtail Ridge elementary schools, so kids in the Prior Lake-Savage part of Savage go to the same high school as Prior Lake kids.

The two districts are close in size. By the federal count for 2024-25 (NCES), Prior Lake-Savage had 8,788 students and Burnsville-Eagan-Savage had 7,663.

For test scores and graduation rates, the state’s Minnesota Report Card shows every district on the same measures.

The lake

Prior Lake is two connected basins: Lower Prior, 956 acres, and Upper Prior, 386 acres. Together that’s about 1,340 acres and 21 miles of shoreline, the largest lake in Scott County (watershed district and DNR figures). The public side of it: two beaches (Sand Point, and Watzl’s inside Lakefront Park), two DNR boat launches (Sand Point and Dewitte) and six city fishing docks, two of them on Prior Lake. The city counts 15 lakes inside its limits in all. Boating rules, fishing and ice are on the lake page.

Savage has nothing on that scale. Its big outdoor spaces are the Minnesota River valley on the north side and Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve on the south. If the lake isn’t on your list, these two cities get a lot closer.

Home prices

Over the last six months, the median sale price was $423K in Savage and $535K in Prior Lake (from the MLS via priorlake.realestate, late September 2026). Savage homes also sold a little faster, a median of 17 days on market to 19, and more of them sold over asking in the last 12 months: 31.4% to 26.7%. Some of Prior Lake’s higher median comes from its lake homes.

Across Prior Lake over the last 12 months, the median sale price was $525K on 461 sales: $620K for single-family homes, $366K for townhomes and $200K for condos. Homes with lake frontage (not just access or a view) sold for a median of $1.10M on 55 sales, and 19 new-construction homes sold for a median of $930K. MLS figures go by mailing address, so Prior Lake’s include parts of Credit River and Spring Lake townships. The housing market page has more.

Property taxes

In Prior Lake, property taxes on recent sales ran about 0.9% of the sale price a year. For single-family homes sold in the last three years, the median tax was $4,740 a year; for townhomes, $3,208 (from the MLS via priorlake.realestate). The 2027 levies and the Nov. 3 school referendum are on the property taxes page.

Both cities are in Scott County, so the county share of the bill is the same. The rest depends on city, school district and watershed levies, which vary by address. For the same home value, Prior Lake’s 2026 rates come in below Savage’s, per Scott County’s rate tables. Savage homes sell for less, though, so median bills in the two cities end up about the same (Census Bureau survey, 2020 to 2024). Compare the tax statements on the actual homes you’re looking at.

Commute

Prior Lake is about 24 miles southwest of downtown Minneapolis, 31 to 36 minutes without traffic. Mall of America is about 25 minutes, the airport 25 to 30, and St. Paul 35 to 45 by County Road 42 and I-35E. MVTA’s Route 490 runs weekday express buses from downtown Prior Lake to downtown Minneapolis and the U of M, about 50 minutes to 12th and Hennepin. Route 447 runs every two hours, seven days a week, to the Savage park and ride, Burnsville Center and the Apple Valley Transit Station. The commute guide has the schedules and park and rides.

Savage has the edge here. It sits between I-35W and Highway 169, with Highway 13 and County Road 42 running through town. From Savage, downtown Minneapolis, Mall of America and the airport are about 7 miles closer than from Prior Lake, often 10 minutes faster. The Savage park and ride also has Route 460 into Minneapolis.

Parks and trails

Prior Lake has 49 city parks on about 1,000 acres and 80 miles of trails and sidewalks, the city says. Lakefront Park is the biggest, about 141 acres in the city’s 2024 park plan, with a beach, a skate park, an amphitheater, a sledding hill and hockey and skating rinks. Just south of the city line, Cleary Lake Regional Park has a campground, a golf course, a swimming beach, ski trails and 28 fenced off-leash acres.

Savage has the Minnesota River valley along its north side. Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve sits in southern Savage and Credit River, a few minutes east of Prior Lake. Three Rivers calls its singletrack a favorite spot for mountain biking in the Twin Cities, with more than 10 miles of trail and loops from easy to advanced, and the reserve is an Audubon Important Bird Area.

Community

Prior Lake has one downtown, on Main Avenue, with a brewery and local restaurants. The big days: Lakefront Music Fest, two nights in July at Lakefront Park that draw more than 32,000 people by the fest’s count; Prior Lake Days in August, with a 21+ Sip and Stroll on Friday and a free family day downtown on Saturday; the farmers market downtown on Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon from May into early October; and DecemBRRR Dazzle, one December evening at Lakefront Park with the tree lighting, fireworks and Santa.

Savage is the bigger city, about 33,400 people, and it feels more tied to the rest of the south metro. Target and Cub Foods on Highway 13, and Hy-Vee, are all on the Savage side of the line. Savage grew fastest in the 1990s and 2000s; since 2010 the two cities have grown at about the same pace. It’s named for Marion Savage, who owned the record-setting pacer Dan Patch. The events calendar on this site lists nearby Savage events too (the coverage policy has the rule).

Safety

Prior Lake had 33 violent crimes in 2024, a rate of 117 per 100,000 people, about a third of the national rate of 359 (FBI). Counting property crime too, its 2024 rate was about 43% below the national rate. It had 37 violent crimes in 2025. In a city this size a few cases move the rate a lot, so look at more than one year. The safety page has police, fire and emergency contacts.

Savage’s rate was lower: 78 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2024 (FBI). So was its property crime rate in the state’s 2025 figures, about 628 per 100,000 to Prior Lake’s 1,035 (BCA). Both cities are far below the national rate.

Who each city is best for

Prior Lake might be your fit if:

• You want the lake close, with public beaches, boat launches and fishing docks in town.
• You want a downtown with a farmers market, a brewery and festivals like Lakefront Music Fest.
• You’ll drive about 10 minutes more to Minneapolis or the airport to live near the lake.
• Tax rates matter to you: for the same home value, Prior Lake’s 2026 rates are lower.

Savage might be your fit if:

• A shorter drive north or east matters most to you.
• You want a lower price: a median of $423K over the last six months.
• You want Prior Lake-Savage schools for less, in the part of Savage the district serves.
• You’d rather have the river valley and Murphy-Hanrehan’s trails than a lake.
• You’re weighing crime rates closely: Savage’s were lower in 2024 and 2025.

The bottom line

Savage costs less, is closer to Minneapolis and the airport and had lower crime rates. Prior Lake has the lake. For schools, check the address first.

Get to know Prior Lake, twice a week

Every Monday, what's happening this week. Every Friday, the weekend. Free, and 1,500+ neighbors already read it.

Please leave this field empty

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

“Who knew all this was going on right in our town.” Barb, subscriber

Who writes these guides

Mark Gores

Founder of Prior Lake Events · REALTOR® with RE/MAX Advantage Plus

I've lived in Prior Lake since 1986. I built Prior Lake Events to put everything happening in town in one place, and I write these guides the way I'd explain Prior Lake to a friend who's thinking about moving here. I've also sold homes here for 22 years.

Buying or selling in Prior Lake? Reach Mark Gores of RE/MAX Advantage Plus directly.

Call or text 612-201-5447markgores.com

Love the site, or spot something that has changed? Email me at mark@priorlakeevents.com.

More about living in Prior Lake

Prior Lake vs ShakopeeNext door, with different schools and a different pace.NeighborhoodsWhat each area is like and what homes there sell for.SchoolsHow the district is set up now, and how to check an address.

All the Living in Prior Lake guides

Photos: Sunset on Prior Lake by Tiger Girl, CC BY 2.0; Dan Patch banner in Savage by Tpdwkouaa, CC BY-SA 4.0.