Kentucky · County property tax · ACS 2024
Barren County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Barren County pays $1,212 a year, an effective rate of 0.68%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,212
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.68%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -39%
- vs U.S. average
- #60 of 120
- rank in KY
The verdict
Homeowners in Barren County pay a median $1,212 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.68%, more affordable than 62% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,212
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.68%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1192 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -39%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($178,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Kentucky. Population: 44,938. Owner-occupied homes: 11,743.
The median annual property tax in Barren County is $1,212, which is 22% lower than the Kentucky state average and 39% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.68% on a median home value of $178,000. Property taxes represent 2.4% of the median household income in this county.
Barren County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Barren County's 0.68% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 62%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Barren County pay a median annual property tax of $1,212, well below the national median and notably lower than the Kentucky state median. On a $178,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.68% 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 Barren County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.4% of the $50,628 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Kentucky counties by effective rate
Barren County ranks #60 of 120 counties in Kentucky by effective rate (50% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Barren 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.
Most of the market's rise reached the bill
The effective rate here moved 10.5% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 58% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 40.0%, the median bill rose 25.3% to $1,212: the rate did comparatively little to offset the market.
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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 25% from $967 to $1,212. These ACS medians describe the reported change; they do not identify whether a levy, assessment, home value, or change in the responding households caused it.
The fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 3,990 of 11,743 owner-occupied homes (34.0%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Incomes here are in the lowest quarter nationally while the rate sits just below the middle, and the median bill lands at 2.4% of median household income. The rate reads as unremarkable in a national ranking; the earnings behind it are not, and the ratio above is where the two meet.
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 Barren County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Barren County homeowners, 3,990 of 11,743 owner-occupied homes (34.0%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 28.4% (3,340)
- $800 to $1,499 34.0% (3,990)
- $1,500 to $1,999 13.0% (1,521)
- $2,000 to $2,999 13.8% (1,620)
- $3,000 or more 7.2% (846)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
426 homes here (3.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Kentucky handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Barren County pay a substantially higher bill, 51% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Barren County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Barren County's effective rate is higher than 50% of the 120 counties in Kentucky - ranking #60 of 120.
Where Barren County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.68% Among the most affordable more affordable than 62% 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
What changed since 2020
The median bill in Barren County moved from $967 in the 2020 release to $1,212 in 2024, a change of about 25%. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates compared across releases that share only one sample year, which is why this page never compares consecutive releases: those overlap in four years of the same households and move mostly on sampling.
Barren County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Barren County | Kentucky Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 2.4% | - | - |
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.
Barren County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Kentucky counties.
Barren County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,212 +0.0% | 0.68% |
| 2023 | $1,212 +4.4% | 0.73% |
| 2022 | $1,161 +11.2% | 0.74% |
| 2021 | $1,044 +8.0% | 0.77% |
| 2020 | $967 | 0.76% |
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.
Barren County: tax-to-income at 2.4%
Counties near Barren County's effective rate
On effective rate, Barren County sits nearest Perry County (IN), Knox County (IN), Cass County (IN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Yolo County (CA), Rio Grande County (CO), West Baton Rouge Parish (LA).
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
Barren County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 430 of 19,000 returns from Barren County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,886 - 33% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k 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 Kentucky
Barren County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Barren County, Kentucky?
- The median annual property tax in Barren County is $1,212, an effective rate of 0.68% on a $178,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Barren County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Barren County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.68% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Barren County?
- Barren County, Kentucky scores C- (54/100) 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 bill size at B- ($1,212/yr). 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.
- Are property taxes increasing in Barren County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Barren County jumped 25.3% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $967 to $1,212, 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Barren County?
- Property taxes in Barren County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.4% of the $50,628 median household income.
What to do with Barren County's QUIET rate
Barren County's $1,212 median bill sits well below the U.S. median - still size a parcel estimate; local millage and exemptions move the real bill. Estimate your bill →
Barren County ranks #60 of 120 Kentucky counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Kentucky overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Barren County's QUIET 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: 0.68%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,212/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Barren County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Barren County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Billings County, ND
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,211/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.37% vs Barren County 0.68%.
Lonoke County, AR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,211/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.63% vs Barren County 0.68%.
Marshall County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,213/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.72% vs Barren County 0.68%.
Petroleum County, MT
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,211/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.60% vs Barren County 0.68%.
Kentucky county set
State ACS overview for every published Kentucky county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Barren County stamps QUIET · LIGHT - 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 Barren County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.