Missouri · County property tax · ACS 2024
Buchanan County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Buchanan County pays $1,281 a year, an effective rate of 0.77%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,281
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.77%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -36%
- vs U.S. average
- #42 of 115
- rank in MO
The verdict
Homeowners in Buchanan County pay a median $1,281 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.77%, more affordable than 53% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,281
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.77%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1476 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -36%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($166,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Missouri. Population: 83,568. Owner-occupied homes: 22,184.
The median annual property tax in Buchanan County is $1,281, which is 34% lower than the Missouri state average and 36% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.77% on a median home value of $166,300. Property taxes represent 2.1% of the median household income in this county.
Buchanan County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Buchanan County's 0.77% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 53%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Buchanan County pay a median annual property tax of $1,281, well below the national median and well below the Missouri state median. On a $166,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.77% 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 Buchanan County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.1% of the $62,158 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Missouri counties by effective rate
Buchanan County ranks #42 of 115 counties in Missouri by effective rate (63% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Buchanan 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 12.1% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 51% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 32.0%, the median bill rose 16.0% to $1,281: 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
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $1,104 to $1,281, a gain of 16%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 7,545 of 22,184 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.
Both figures cluster near the middle of the national range, and the median bill comes to 2.1% of median household income. Counties like this are the reason a national average exists at all, and also the reason it explains so little.
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 Buchanan County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Buchanan County homeowners, 7,545 of 22,184 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 25.2% (5,595)
- $800 to $1,499 34.0% (7,545)
- $1,500 to $1,999 13.4% (2,978)
- $2,000 to $2,999 13.2% (2,937)
- $3,000 or more 10.8% (2,400)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
729 homes here (3.3%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Missouri handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Buchanan County, mortgaged homeowners pay 14% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Buchanan County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Buchanan County's effective rate is higher than 63% of the 115 counties in Missouri - ranking #42 of 115.
Where Buchanan County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.77% more affordable than 53% 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
Same rate as Missouri, a smaller bill
The effective rate here sits within 9% of the Missouri median, yet the median bill runs 34% below it. When the rate matches and the cheque does not, the difference is in what is being taxed, not how heavily: the same percentage applied to cheaper housing produces $1,281 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Buchanan County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Buchanan County | Missouri 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 | 2.1% | - | - |
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.
Buchanan County is UNDER · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Missouri counties.
Buchanan County rate trail · UNDER
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,281 +2.2% | 0.77% |
| 2023 | $1,253 +3.1% | 0.80% |
| 2022 | $1,215 +7.1% | 0.81% |
| 2021 | $1,134 +2.7% | 0.87% |
| 2020 | $1,104 | 0.88% |
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.
Buchanan County: tax-to-income at 2.1%
Counties near Buchanan County's effective rate
On effective rate, Buchanan County sits nearest Tippah County (MS), Pope County (MN), Otter Tail County (MN).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Orange County (VA), Hughes County (OK), Gem County (ID).
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
Buchanan County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 990 of 38,800 returns from Buchanan County reported real estate taxes, averaging $3,254 - 35% 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 Missouri
Buchanan County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Buchanan County, Missouri?
- The median annual property tax in Buchanan County is $1,281, an effective rate of 0.77% on a $166,300 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Buchanan County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Buchanan County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.77% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Buchanan County?
- Buchanan County, Missouri scores C+ (62/100) 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- (+$165). 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 Buchanan County?
- Property taxes in Buchanan County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.1% of the $62,158 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Buchanan County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Buchanan County climbed 16.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,104 to $1,281, 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 Buchanan County's UNDER rate
Buchanan County's $1,281 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 →
Buchanan County ranks #42 of 115 Missouri counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Missouri overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Buchanan 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: 0.77%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,281/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Buchanan County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Buchanan County (UNDER · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
UNDER LIGHT
Carbon County, WY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,279/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.57% vs Buchanan County 0.77%.
Gooding County, ID
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,279/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.51% vs Buchanan County 0.77%.
Harrison County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,279/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.05% vs Buchanan County 0.77%.
Leon County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,283/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.69% vs Buchanan County 0.77%.
Missouri county set
State ACS overview for every published Missouri county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Buchanan County stamps UNDER · 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 Buchanan County (UNDER · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.