Texas · County property tax · ACS 2024
Austin County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Austin County pays $3,433 a year, an effective rate of 1.16%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,433
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.16%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +72%
- vs U.S. average
- #138 of 250
- rank in TX
The verdict
Homeowners in Austin County pay a median $3,433 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.16%, more affordable than 25% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,433
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.16%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2350 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +72%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($296,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Texas. Population: 31,170. Owner-occupied homes: 9,279.
The median annual property tax in Austin County is $3,433, which is 19% lower than the Texas state average and 72% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.16% on a median home value of $296,900. Property taxes represent 4.5% of the median household income in this county.
Austin County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Austin County's 1.16% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 25%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Austin County pay a median annual property tax of $3,433, far above the national median and notably lower than the Texas state median. On a $296,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.16% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Austin County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.5% of the $75,789 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Texas counties by effective rate
Austin County ranks #138 of 250 counties in Texas by effective rate (45% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Austin County as reported to the Census Bureau; your parcel can differ. Not tax, legal, or financial advice: check the county assessor or a qualified professional before decisions that depend on these numbers.
A falling rate took the edge off
Austin County's effective rate fell 17.5% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 50.6%, leaving the median bill 24.2% higher at $3,433. That rate move is larger than the one in 75% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
Effective rate is the published median bill divided by the published median home value, so the two multiply back to the bill exactly; the rate's movement here is derived from those two figures rather than read from the rounded published rate. Both are ACS 5-year survey estimates for the median owner-occupied household, compared across non-overlapping releases. They describe what the Census published, not a local policy, assessment, or exemption change.
How to read this county's bill
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $2,765 to $3,433, a gain of 24%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 5,091 of 9,279 owner-occupied homes (54.9%) report annual real-estate taxes above $3,000. That band has no upper edge in the source, so the county median understates the burden carried by the plurality rather than describing it.
Both the income and the rate here sit in the third quarter nationally, and the median bill is 4.5% of median household income. Two above-average figures pulling in opposite directions is why the rate on its own is a poor guide.
The share above is the median annual bill divided by median household income, a ratio of two county-level medians rather than a household-by-household figure.
What Austin County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Austin County homeowners, 5,091 of 9,279 owner-occupied homes (54.9%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 12.4% (1,150)
- $800 to $1,499 9.5% (880)
- $1,500 to $1,999 6.6% (614)
- $2,000 to $2,999 13.6% (1,260)
- $3,000 or more 54.9% (5,091)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
284 homes here (3.1%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Texas handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Austin County pay a substantially higher bill, 47% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Austin County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Austin County's effective rate is higher than 45% of the 250 counties in Texas - ranking #138 of 250.
Where Austin County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.16% more affordable than 25% of 3,135 U.S. counties
Show national distribution
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more U.S. counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024
Below Texas on both measures
Austin County's effective rate runs 22% under the Texas median and its bill 19% under. Both sitting on the same side means the gap is not a valuation artefact: a county can post a low rate purely because its homes are expensive, but then the bill rises to meet the state. Here it does not, so the $3,433 median bill reflects a genuinely lighter charge than the Texas norm rather than a different denominator. Compare it against the state page before reading anything into the county rank.
Austin County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Austin County | Texas Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 4.5% | - | - |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. Tax-burden differences across rows reflect millage decisions, assessment-ratio practices, and the residential-vs-commercial mix of each tax base.
Austin County is PAR · HEAVY on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Texas counties.
Austin County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,433 -0.9% | 1.16% |
| 2023 | $3,464 +7.8% | 1.28% |
| 2022 | $3,212 +13.2% | 1.34% |
| 2021 | $2,837 +2.6% | 1.34% |
| 2020 | $2,765 | 1.40% |
Each row is a separate ACS 5-year release, and consecutive releases share four of their five survey years. The percentage beside each bill is therefore movement in the published estimate against the previous release, not a single year's tax change. The two releases largely describe the same households. For change over time, compare releases that do not overlap.
Austin County: tax takes 4.5% of income
Counties near Austin County's effective rate
On effective rate, Austin County sits nearest Clinton County (PA), Sherman County (NE), Howard County (NE).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are McIntosh County (OK), Saline County (IL), Pocahontas County (WV).
How peers are chosen
These are the nearest cross-state matches in the published Census data, not neighboring counties or recommendations. Peers are rebuilt with each data release; see the calculation method.
Similar effective rates
Similar published median-tax changes, 2020–2024
Austin County: only 6% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 870 of 15,530 returns from Austin County reported real estate taxes, averaging $7,817 - 37% of those reporters sat in the $200k+ AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Texas
Austin County rate FAQs
- How does Austin County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Austin County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.16% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Austin County?
- Austin County, Texas scores F (14/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is rate relief at F (1.16%). The score compares published county medians to U.S. percentiles, it is not a personal bill and not advice to buy, sell, appeal, or relocate.
- What is the average property tax in Austin County, Texas?
- The median annual property tax in Austin County is $3,433, an effective rate of 1.16% on a $296,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Austin County?
- Property taxes in Austin County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.5% of the $75,789 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Austin County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Austin County jumped 24.2% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,765 to $3,433, a 4-year span. These are survey estimates covering five years each, so this compares the two releases furthest apart rather than consecutive ones, which overlap and would mostly measure the same households twice.
What to do with Austin County's PAR rate
Austin County's $3,433 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Austin County ranks #138 of 250 Texas counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Texas overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Austin County's PAR effective rate, then a disjoint out-of-state bill set so the two neighborhoods stay distinct.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 1.16%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,433/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Austin County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Austin County (PAR · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR HEAVY
Spokane County, WA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,434/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.84% vs Austin County 1.16%.
Rock Island County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,425/yr (near-tied bill ABS $8); rate 2.28% vs Austin County 1.16%.
Yamhill County, OR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,425/yr (near-tied bill ABS $8); rate 0.73% vs Austin County 1.16%.
Leavenworth County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,424/yr (near-tied bill ABS $9); rate 1.21% vs Austin County 1.16%.
Texas county set
State ACS overview for every published Texas county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Austin County stamps PAR · HEAVY - how assessed value and millage become the ACS median bill.
Data vintage and method
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Property tax data reflects median amounts paid by homeowners. Effective rates are calculated as median tax divided by median home value.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 Austin County (PAR · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.