Scanlon
The small city between Cloquet and Esko, on the river and the interstate.
Scanlon at a glance
Scanlon is a small city of about 1,000 people on the St. Louis River between Cloquet and Esko, with I-35 running past it. It is the least-known community in the Carlton County corridor and the cheapest way into it, sending its children to Cloquet schools while sitting minutes from Esko's. For buyers priced out of Esko who still want the corridor and a 20-minute Duluth commute, Scanlon is the obvious place to look and almost nobody does.
Scanlon sits on the St. Louis River immediately east of Cloquet, hemmed between the river, the highway, and its larger neighbour. It was incorporated as its own city and has stayed one, with a population of 987 at the 2020 Census and roughly 1,000 today, which makes it a real municipality rather than a neighbourhood of Cloquet even though it functions largely as one.
The practical case for Scanlon is arbitrage. It shares the corridor with Esko, whose prices are driven up hard by demand for the ISD 99 attendance area, and with Cloquet, which carries the county's hospital, grocery, and retail ten minutes west. Scanlon has neither the school premium nor the retail, and prices accordingly. Downtown Duluth is about 20 minutes northeast on I-35.
Children here attend Cloquet Public Schools (ISD 94), a district of roughly 2,529 students with a high school of about 761, which is materially larger and broader than Esko's or Carlton's. For families who prefer a bigger course catalog to a small cohort, that is a feature rather than a compromise.
What Scanlon does not have is its own commercial life, its own school, or much identity in the regional imagination. It is a place people drive through on the way between two better-known towns, which is precisely why it is cheap.
Schools: Cloquet Public Schools (ISD 94). Scanlon students attend Cloquet Public Schools.
Typical range: $130k to $265k. Sale volume here is too low for a reliable published median.
Recent coverage of Scanlon
The county began revising a development plan that had not been updated since 2001.
The board scheduled a public hearing on a one-year pause for data center development.
Headlines link to the original publisher. We summarise and attribute, we do not republish. Last checked 14 Aug 2026.
Communities with full guides
Immediately west, the county's largest city with the hospital, grocery, and full retail.
EskoA few minutes east, the school-driven market with much higher prices.
CarltonSouth down the river corridor, the county seat at the gates of Jay Cooke.
ProctorFifteen minutes northeast up I-35 toward Duluth.