Taylor is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,575 at the 2000 census; it was 15,191 at the 2010 census; it was 16,267 at the 2020 census.

In 1876, the Texas Land Company auctioned lots in anticipation of the coming on of the International-Great Northern Railroad following Taylor was founded that year. The city was named after Edward Moses Taylor, a railroad official, under the reveal Taylorsville, which officially became Taylor in 1892. Immigrants from Moravia and Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) and additional Slavic states, as capably as from Germany and Austria, helped insist the town. It soon became a booming shipping lessening for cattle, grain, and cotton.

By 1878, the town had 1,000 residents and 32 businesses, 29 of which were destroyed by flame in 1879. Recovery was rapid, however, and more substantial buildings were constructed. In 1882, the Taylor, Bastrop and Houston Railway (later share of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad) reached the community, and robot shops and a roundhouse served both rail lines. In 1882, the town was incorporated as soon as a mayor-council form of city government, and in 1883, a public moot system replaced a number of private schools.

By 1890, Taylor had two banks and the first savings and move ahead institution in Texas. An electric company, a cotton compress, and several newspapers were among the extra enterprises. A water parentage from the San Gabriel River, a 100-man volunteer blaze department, imported and local entertainment, and an annual fair made noteworthy news items by 1900.