The town was named after falls that were located on the Mississippi River, which travels through the town. Several attempts to build dams over the falls took place throughout the town's history, some of which powered saw mills in the nineteenth century. Today, the Little Falls Dam serves as a hydroelectric station that generates power for the surrounding area.
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,719 people, 3,197 households, and 1,899 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,232.5 people per square mile (476.1/km²). There were 3,358 housing units at an average density of 536.2/sq mi (207.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.21% White, 0.49% African American, 0.52% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.05% of the population. 38.2% were of German, 16.5% Polish, 8.4% Norwegian and 7.8% Swedish ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 3,197 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.6% were non-families. 36.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 85.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,547, and the median income for a family was $40,298. Males had a median income of $30,925 versus $22,922 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,924. About 9.2% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 23.1% of those age 65 or over.