South Dakota · County property tax · ACS 2024
Brookings County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Brookings County pays $2,981 a year, an effective rate of 1.13%, far above the U.S. average.
- $2,981
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.13%
- Effective rate · Above-median rate
- +50%
- vs U.S. average
- #19 of 66
- rank in SD
The verdict
Homeowners in Brookings County pay a median $2,981 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.13%, more affordable than 27% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,981
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.13%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2296 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +50%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($264,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Dakota. Population: 35,353. Owner-occupied homes: 7,896.
The median annual property tax in Brookings County is $2,981, which is 9% higher than the South Dakota state average and 50% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.13% on a median home value of $264,600. Property taxes represent 4.3% of the median household income in this county.
Brookings County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Brookings County's 1.13% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 27%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Brookings County pay a median annual property tax of $2,981, far above the national median and modestly above the South Dakota state median. On a $264,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.13% 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 Brookings County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.3% of the $70,064 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of South Dakota counties by effective rate
Brookings County ranks #19 of 66 counties in South Dakota by effective rate (71% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Brookings 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
Brookings County's effective rate fell 13.1% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 41.4%, leaving the median bill 22.8% higher at $2,981. That rate move is larger than the one in 55% 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 $2,427 to $2,981, a gain of 23%. 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: 3,830 of 7,896 owner-occupied homes (48.5%) 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 4.3% 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 Brookings County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Brookings County homeowners, 3,830 of 7,896 owner-occupied homes (48.5%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 7.8% (614)
- $800 to $1,499 8.1% (640)
- $1,500 to $1,999 7.7% (610)
- $2,000 to $2,999 25.9% (2,042)
- $3,000 or more 48.5% (3,830)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
160 homes here (2.0%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how South Dakota handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Brookings County pay about the same bill, a 5% gap.
Brookings County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Brookings County's effective rate is higher than 71% of the 66 counties in South Dakota - ranking #19 of 66.
Where Brookings County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.13% more affordable than 27% 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
Close to the South Dakota median on both measures
Rate and bill both land within 10% of the South Dakota medians here, which makes Brookings County a reasonable stand-in for the state when comparing against counties elsewhere. It also means the county-level figure adds little beyond the state figure for this particular comparison; the $2,981 median bill and the state median tell substantially the same story.
Brookings County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Brookings County | South Dakota Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 4.3% | - | - |
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.
Brookings County is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Dakota counties.
Brookings County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,981 +6.7% | 1.13% |
| 2023 | $2,795 +5.0% | 1.13% |
| 2022 | $2,662 +6.1% | 1.17% |
| 2021 | $2,508 +3.3% | 1.25% |
| 2020 | $2,427 | 1.30% |
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.
Brookings County: tax takes 4.3% of income
Counties near Brookings County's effective rate
On effective rate, Brookings County sits nearest Richland County (ND), Nicollet County (MN), Kanabec County (MN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Richland County (ND), Rawlins County (KS), Harney County (OR).
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
Brookings County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 470 of 15,070 returns from Brookings County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,740 - 43% 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 South Dakota
Brookings County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Brookings County?
- Brookings County, South Dakota scores F (28/100) 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 B (+$142). 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.
- How does Brookings County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Brookings County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.13% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Brookings County, South Dakota?
- The median annual property tax in Brookings County is $2,981, an effective rate of 1.13% on a $264,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Brookings County?
- Property taxes in Brookings County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.3% of the $70,064 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Brookings County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Brookings County jumped 22.8% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,427 to $2,981, 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 Brookings County's PAR rate
Brookings County's $2,981 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Brookings County ranks #19 of 66 South Dakota counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. South Dakota overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Brookings 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: 1.13%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,981/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Brookings County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Brookings County (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR MID
Kern County, CA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,984/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.88% vs Brookings County 1.13%.
Vernon County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,978/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 1.33% vs Brookings County 1.13%.
Cherokee County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,985/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 0.69% vs Brookings County 1.13%.
Crook County, OR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,972/yr (near-tied bill ABS $9); rate 0.64% vs Brookings County 1.13%.
South Dakota county set
State ACS overview for every published South Dakota county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Brookings 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 Brookings County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.