Montana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Big Horn County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Big Horn County pays $1,574 a year, an effective rate of 1.10%, notably lower than the U.S. average.
- $1,574
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 1.10%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- -21%
- vs U.S. average
- #6 of 56
- rank in MT
The verdict
Homeowners in Big Horn County pay a median $1,574 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.10%, more affordable than 28% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,574
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.10%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2246 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -21%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($143,400). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Montana. Population: 12,891. Owner-occupied homes: 2,553.
The median annual property tax in Big Horn County is $1,574, which is 42% lower than the Montana state average and 21% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.10% on a median home value of $143,400. Property taxes represent 2.7% of the median household income in this county.
Big Horn County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Big Horn County's 1.10% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 28%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Montana median
Homeowners in Big Horn County pay a median annual property tax of $1,574, notably lower than the national median and well below the Montana state median. On a $143,400 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.10% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Montana counties by effective rate
Big Horn County ranks #6 of 56 counties in Montana by effective rate (89% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
The latest release moved the bill up
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has ticked up 6.2%, from $1,482 to $1,574. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Decision signal 5
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Big Horn County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $58,750 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Big Horn 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.
How to read this county's bill
The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 46% from $1,081 to $1,574. 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 largest single group of owner-occupied homes in this county reports no real estate tax at all: 911 of 2,553 homes (35.7%). When that group leads, the county median does not describe the most common reported amount.
Earnings are below the national midpoint while the rate is above it, and the median bill equals 2.7% of median household income. The gap between those two positions is the whole story on this page.
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 Big Horn County Homeowners Actually Pay
Most Big Horn County homeowners are not billed at all: 911 of 2,553 owner-occupied homes (35.7%) report no real estate tax. A median bill describes only the minority who pay one.
- Less than $800 12.8% (327)
- $800 to $1,499 17.3% (441)
- $1,500 to $1,999 14.1% (360)
- $2,000 to $2,999 10.7% (273)
- $3,000 or more 9.4% (241)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
911 homes here (35.7%) report no real estate tax at all, an unusually large share, high enough that the median bill above describes a minority of Big Horn County homeowners. Exemptions are set by state: how Montana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Big Horn County, mortgaged homeowners actually pay 16% less than those without a mortgage, a mild inversion from the national norm worth cross-checking against the historical table above.
Big Horn County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Big Horn County's effective rate is higher than 89% of the 56 counties in Montana - ranking #6 of 56.
Where Big Horn County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.10% more affordable than 28% 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
A high rate, a smaller bill
Big Horn County taxes property at 1.10%, about 53% above the Montana average, yet its median bill of $1,574 lands roughly 42% below it. The effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, so a county can only sit on opposite sides of the state average this way when its homes are worth materially less than the state norm. The rate is the policy; the bill is what the housing market does with it.
Big Horn County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Big Horn County | Montana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Above-median income burden | 2.7% | - | - |
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.
Big Horn County is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Montana counties.
Big Horn County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,574 +6.2% | 1.10% |
| 2023 | $1,482 -1.6% | 1.00% |
| 2022 | $1,506 +25.2% | 0.94% |
| 2021 | $1,203 +11.3% | 0.81% |
| 2020 | $1,081 | 0.72% |
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.
Big Horn County: tax-to-income at 2.7%
Counties near Big Horn County's effective rate
On effective rate, Big Horn County sits nearest Sibley County (MN), Chippewa County (MN), St. Joseph County (MI).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Emery County (UT), Kit Carson County (CO), Covington County (MS).
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
Big Horn County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 70 of 4,360 returns from Big Horn County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,243 - 57% 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 Montana
Big Horn County rate FAQs
- How does Big Horn County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Big Horn County run notably lower than the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.10% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Big Horn County, Montana?
- The median annual property tax in Big Horn County is $1,574, an effective rate of 1.10% on a $143,400 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- Are property taxes increasing in Big Horn County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Big Horn County is recorded at $1,574 in the 2024 5-year release against $1,081 in 2020. That is a large swing, and it should be read as movement in a survey estimate rather than as a tax change: the median here rests on about 2,553 owner-occupied homes, and swings above 50% are roughly twelve times more common in the smallest counties than in the largest. Treat the two figures as imprecise and check the county assessor for actual rate changes.
- What is the tax affordability score for Big Horn County?
- Big Horn County, Montana scores C- (52/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-274). 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 percentage of income goes to property taxes in Big Horn County?
- Property taxes in Big Horn County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $58,750 median household income.
What to do with Big Horn County's PAR rate
Inside Montana, Big Horn County's $1,574 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Montana overview →
Big Horn County ranks #6 of 56 Montana counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Montana overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Big Horn 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: 1.10%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,574/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Big Horn County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Big Horn County (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR MID
Aurora County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Big Horn County at $1,574/yr; rate 1.04% vs Big Horn County 1.10%.
Garfield County, WA
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Big Horn County at $1,574/yr; rate 0.66% vs Big Horn County 1.10%.
Lincoln County, MN
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Big Horn County at $1,574/yr; rate 0.96% vs Big Horn County 1.10%.
Marshall County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Big Horn County at $1,574/yr; rate 1.23% vs Big Horn County 1.10%.
Montana county set
State ACS overview for every published Montana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Big Horn County stamps PAR · 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 Big Horn County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.