Michigan · County property tax · ACS 2024
Benzie County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Benzie County pays $2,262 a year, an effective rate of 0.79%, notably higher than the U.S. average.
- $2,262
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 0.79%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- +13%
- vs U.S. average
- #82 of 83
- rank in MI
The verdict
Homeowners in Benzie County pay a median $2,262 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.79%, more affordable than 51% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,262
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.79%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1538 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +13%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($285,700). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Michigan. Population: 18,310. Owner-occupied homes: 6,764.
The median annual property tax in Benzie County is $2,262, which is 22% lower than the Michigan state average and 13% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.79% on a median home value of $285,700. Property taxes represent 3.0% of the median household income in this county.
Benzie County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Benzie County's 0.79% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 51%).
Decision signal 2
High among Michigan counties by effective rate
Benzie County ranks #82 of 83 counties in Michigan by effective rate (1% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 3
The bill sits below the Michigan median
Homeowners in Benzie County pay a median annual property tax of $2,262, notably higher than the national median and notably lower than the Michigan state median. On a $285,700 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.79% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Benzie County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.0% of the $74,834 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Benzie 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
Benzie County's effective rate fell 13.4% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 46.2%, leaving the median bill 26.6% higher at $2,262. That rate move is larger than the one in 56% 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
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 27% from $1,787 to $2,262. 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 heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 1,957 of 6,764 owner-occupied homes (28.9%) 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.
Above-median earnings meet a slightly-below-median rate, and the median bill amounts to 3.0% of median household income. That is the comfortable middle of this dataset, and comfortable middles are easy to overlook when only rankings get published.
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 Benzie County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Benzie County homeowners, 1,957 of 6,764 owner-occupied homes (28.9%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 5.8% (394)
- $800 to $1,499 19.0% (1,283)
- $1,500 to $1,999 15.8% (1,066)
- $2,000 to $2,999 24.4% (1,650)
- $3,000 or more 28.9% (1,957)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
414 homes here (6.1%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Michigan handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Benzie County pay about the same bill, within a 7% gap either way.
Benzie County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Benzie County's effective rate is higher than 1% of the 83 counties in Michigan - ranking #82 of 83.
Where Benzie County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.79% more affordable than 51% 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 Benzie County moved from $1,787 in the 2020 release to $2,262 in 2024, a change of about 27%. 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.
Benzie County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Benzie County | Michigan Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 3.0% | - | - |
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.
Benzie County is UNDER · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Michigan counties.
Benzie County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,262 +6.7% | 0.79% |
| 2023 | $2,119 +3.2% | 0.83% |
| 2022 | $2,053 +9.3% | 0.84% |
| 2021 | $1,878 +5.1% | 0.89% |
| 2020 | $1,787 | 0.91% |
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.
Benzie County: tax-to-income at 3.0%
Counties near Benzie County's effective rate
On effective rate, Benzie County sits nearest Nelson County (KY), Franklin County (KY), Randolph County (IN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Kenton County (KY), Mahnomen County (MN), Cass County (MN).
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
Benzie County: only 5% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 460 of 9,870 returns from Benzie County reported real estate taxes, averaging $8,350 - 30% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Michigan
Benzie County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Benzie County?
- Benzie County, Michigan scores D (48/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-163). 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 Benzie County, Michigan?
- The median annual property tax in Benzie County is $2,262, an effective rate of 0.79% on a $285,700 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Benzie County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Benzie County run notably higher than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.79% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Benzie County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Benzie County jumped 26.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,787 to $2,262, 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 Benzie County?
- Property taxes in Benzie County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 3.0% of the $74,834 median household income.
What to do with Benzie County's UNDER rate
Inside Michigan, Benzie County's $2,262 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Michigan overview →
Benzie County ranks #82 of 83 Michigan counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Michigan overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Benzie County's UNDER 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: 0.79%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,262/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Benzie County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Benzie County (UNDER · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER MID
Park County, WY
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Benzie County at $2,262/yr; rate 0.56% vs Benzie County 0.79%.
Glenn County, CA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,263/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.64% vs Benzie County 0.79%.
Hansford County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,261/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.81% vs Benzie County 0.79%.
York County, NE
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,263/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.19% vs Benzie County 0.79%.
Michigan county set
State ACS overview for every published Michigan county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Benzie County stamps UNDER · MID - 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 Benzie County (UNDER · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.