Nebraska · County property tax · ACS 2024
Buffalo County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Buffalo County pays $3,555 a year, an effective rate of 1.44%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,555
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.44%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +78%
- vs U.S. average
- #18 of 93
- rank in NE
The verdict
Homeowners in Buffalo County pay a median $3,555 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.44%, more affordable than 13% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,555
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.44%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2718 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +78%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($246,400). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Nebraska. Population: 50,579. Owner-occupied homes: 13,269.
The median annual property tax in Buffalo County is $3,555, which is 0% higher than the Nebraska state average and 78% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.44% on a median home value of $246,400. Property taxes represent 4.7% of the median household income in this county.
Buffalo County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Buffalo County's 1.44% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 13%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Buffalo County pay a median annual property tax of $3,555, far above the national median and roughly in line with the Nebraska state median. On a $246,400 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.44% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Nebraska counties by effective rate
Buffalo County ranks #18 of 93 counties in Nebraska by effective rate (81% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band
Property taxes in Buffalo County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.7% of the $75,911 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Buffalo 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 6.0% down between 2020 and 2024, a smaller shift than in 75% of U.S. counties. With the median home value rose 33.0%, the median bill rose 25.0% to $3,555: 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 $2,844 to $3,555, a gain of 25%. 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: 7,790 of 13,269 owner-occupied homes (58.7%) 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.
Both figures are in the national top quarter, and the median bill still equals only 4.7% of median household income. A high rate on high earnings produces a large dollar figure, and only the dollar figure tends to get quoted; the ratio above is the other half.
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 Buffalo County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Buffalo County homeowners, 7,790 of 13,269 owner-occupied homes (58.7%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 6.3% (835)
- $800 to $1,499 5.3% (709)
- $1,500 to $1,999 5.9% (780)
- $2,000 to $2,999 19.4% (2,569)
- $3,000 or more 58.7% (7,790)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
586 homes here (4.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Nebraska handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Buffalo County pay about the same bill, a 0% gap.
Buffalo County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Buffalo County's effective rate is higher than 81% of the 93 counties in Nebraska - ranking #18 of 93.
Where Buffalo County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.44% more affordable than 13% 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 Buffalo County moved from $2,844 in the 2020 release to $3,555 in 2024, a change of about 25%. 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.
Buffalo County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Buffalo County | Nebraska Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 4.7% | - | - |
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.
Buffalo County's STEEP · HEAVY lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Buffalo County's published figures (STEEP · HEAVY), a $246,400 median home carries a $3,555 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $356 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Nebraska.
Buffalo County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,555 +3.5% | 1.44% |
| 2023 | $3,435 +4.1% | 1.45% |
| 2022 | $3,299 +10.3% | 1.51% |
| 2021 | $2,992 +5.2% | 1.56% |
| 2020 | $2,844 | 1.53% |
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.
Buffalo County: tax takes 4.7% of income
Counties near Buffalo County's effective rate
On effective rate, Buffalo County sits nearest Finney County (KS), Bell County (TX), Dickens County (TX).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Winona County (MN), Chaves County (NM), Richmond County (NY).
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
Buffalo County: only 4% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 1,030 of 23,380 returns from Buffalo County reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,774 - 33% 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 Nebraska
Buffalo County rate FAQs
- How does Buffalo County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Buffalo County run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.44% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Buffalo County, Nebraska?
- The median annual property tax in Buffalo County is $3,555, an effective rate of 1.44% on a $246,400 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Buffalo County?
- Buffalo County, Nebraska scores F (25/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A ($-4). 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 Buffalo County?
- Property taxes in Buffalo County run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.7% of the $75,911 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Buffalo County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Buffalo County jumped 25.0% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,844 to $3,555, 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 Buffalo County's STEEP rate
Buffalo County's $3,555 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Buffalo County ranks #18 of 93 Nebraska counties by effective rate - on the higher-burden half of the state ACS set. Nebraska overview →
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Buffalo County's STEEP 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: 1.44%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,555/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Buffalo County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Buffalo County (STEEP · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP HEAVY
Johnson County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,557/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.24% vs Buffalo County 1.44%.
Kittitas County, WA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,552/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.71% vs Buffalo County 1.44%.
Peoria County, IL
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,552/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 2.24% vs Buffalo County 1.44%.
Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,550/yr (near-tied bill ABS $5); rate 1.19% vs Buffalo County 1.44%.
Nebraska county set
State ACS overview for every published Nebraska county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Buffalo County stamps STEEP · HEAVY - review notice deadlines before quoting the ACS median.
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 Buffalo County (STEEP · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.