Iowa · County property tax · ACS 2024
Buena Vista County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Buena Vista County pays $1,931 a year, an effective rate of 1.21%, modestly below the U.S. average.
- $1,931
- Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
- 1.21%
- Effective rate · High rate
- -3%
- vs U.S. average
- #75 of 99
- rank in IA
The verdict
Homeowners in Buena Vista County pay a median $1,931 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.21%, more affordable than 23% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,931
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.21%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2418 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -3%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($159,500). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Iowa. Population: 20,753. Owner-occupied homes: 5,525.
The median annual property tax in Buena Vista County is $1,931, which is 33% lower than the Iowa state average and 3% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.21% on a median home value of $159,500. Property taxes represent 2.7% of the median household income in this county.
Buena Vista County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Buena Vista County's 1.21% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 23%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits below the Iowa median
Homeowners in Buena Vista County pay a median annual property tax of $1,931, modestly below the national median and well below the Iowa state median. On a $159,500 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.21% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Iowa counties by effective rate
Buena Vista County ranks #75 of 99 counties in Iowa by effective rate (24% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Buena Vista County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $71,719 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Buena Vista 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.
The rate held while the market moved
Buena Vista County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 3.5% down, against a median home value that rose 32.6%.
A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 28.0%, from $1,509 to $1,931.
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 28% from $1,509 to $1,931. 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: 1,640 of 5,525 owner-occupied homes (29.7%) 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.
The rate is in the national top quarter while earnings are only moderately above the midpoint, so the median bill claims 2.7% of median household income. A high rate is affordable only relative to something, and this is what it is relative to here.
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 Buena Vista County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Buena Vista County homeowners, 1,640 of 5,525 owner-occupied homes (29.7%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 16.1% (887)
- $800 to $1,499 18.0% (993)
- $1,500 to $1,999 17.0% (941)
- $2,000 to $2,999 16.7% (922)
- $3,000 or more 29.7% (1,640)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
142 homes here (2.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Iowa handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Buena Vista County, mortgaged homeowners pay 23% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Buena Vista County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Buena Vista County's effective rate is higher than 24% of the 99 counties in Iowa - ranking #75 of 99.
Where Buena Vista County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.21% more affordable than 23% 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 Buena Vista County moved from $1,509 in the 2020 release to $1,931 in 2024, a change of about 28%. 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.
Buena Vista County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Buena Vista County | Iowa Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Above-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High 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.
Buena Vista County is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Iowa counties.
Buena Vista County rate trail · PAR
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,931 +6.0% | 1.21% |
| 2023 | $1,822 +2.0% | 1.24% |
| 2022 | $1,786 +11.0% | 1.29% |
| 2021 | $1,609 +6.6% | 1.27% |
| 2020 | $1,509 | 1.25% |
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.
Buena Vista County: tax-to-income at 2.7%
Counties near Buena Vista County's effective rate
On effective rate, Buena Vista County sits nearest Leavenworth County (KS), Sedgwick County (KS), Tuscola County (MI).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Deer Lodge County (MT), Baker County (OR), Dickson County (TN).
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
Buena Vista County: only 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 260 of 9,600 returns from Buena Vista County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,292 - 31% 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 Iowa
Buena Vista County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Buena Vista County?
- Buena Vista County, Iowa scores D (40/100) 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 housing pressure at A- (2.22×). 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 Buena Vista County, Iowa?
- The median annual property tax in Buena Vista County is $1,931, an effective rate of 1.21% on a $159,500 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Buena Vista County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Buena Vista County run modestly below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.21% versus 0.92% nationally.
- Are property taxes increasing in Buena Vista County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Buena Vista County jumped 28.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,509 to $1,931, 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 Buena Vista County?
- Property taxes in Buena Vista County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.7% of the $71,719 median household income.
What to do with Buena Vista County's PAR rate
Inside Iowa, Buena Vista County's $1,931 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Iowa overview →
Buena Vista County ranks #75 of 99 Iowa counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Iowa overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Buena Vista 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: 1.21%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,931/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Buena Vista County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Buena Vista County (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
PAR MID
Logan County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,932/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.64% vs Buena Vista County 1.21%.
Clayton County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,933/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.87% vs Buena Vista County 1.21%.
Floyd County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,929/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.34% vs Buena Vista County 1.21%.
Polk County, FL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,933/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 0.73% vs Buena Vista County 1.21%.
Iowa county set
State ACS overview for every published Iowa county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Buena Vista 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 Buena Vista County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.