South Dakota · County property tax · ACS 2024
Buffalo County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Buffalo County pays $473 a year, an effective rate of 0.40%, far below the U.S. average.
- $473
- Median tax / yr · Very low bill
- 0.40%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- -76%
- vs U.S. average
- #65 of 66
- rank in SD
The verdict
Homeowners in Buffalo County pay a median $473 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.40%, more affordable than 93% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $473
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.40%
- Effective rate on median home
- #217 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -76%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($117,800). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for South Dakota. Population: 1,808. Owner-occupied homes: 267.
The median annual property tax in Buffalo County is $473, which is 83% lower than the South Dakota state average and 76% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.40% on a median home value of $117,800. Property taxes represent 1.0% of the median household income in this county.
Buffalo County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Buffalo County's 0.40% effective rate is among the lowest of 3,135 tracked counties: roughly 93% pay a higher rate.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Buffalo County pay a median annual property tax of $473, far below the national median and far below the South Dakota state median. On a $117,800 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.40% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among South Dakota counties by effective rate
Buffalo County ranks #65 of 66 counties in South Dakota by effective rate (2% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
The latest release moved the bill down
Since 2023, the published ACS median estimate has dropped sharply 43.9%, from $843 to $473. This compares two release estimates; it does not identify a local policy, assessment, exemption, or household-bill cause.
Decision signal 5
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Buffalo County run well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.0% of the $47,045 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.
Buffalo County is an outlier inside South Dakota
Across the 66 South Dakota counties with a published rate, the average effective rate is 1.03%. Buffalo County is at 0.40%, which sits 2.6 standard deviations below that average. Fewer than one county in twenty nationally is this far from its own state's centre, so a state-level average is a poor guide to what is owed here.
Standard deviations are computed across every county in the state with a published effective rate for 2024; states with fewer than five such counties are not assessed.
What Buffalo County Homeowners Actually Pay
Most Buffalo County homeowners are not billed at all: 159 of 267 owner-occupied homes (59.6%) report no real estate tax. A median bill describes only the minority who pay one.
- Less than $800 24.0% (64)
- $800 to $1,499 8.6% (23)
- $1,500 to $1,999 2.2% (6)
- $2,000 to $2,999 5.2% (14)
- $3,000 or more 0.4% (1)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
159 homes here (59.6%) report no real estate tax at all, an unusually large share, high enough that the median bill above describes a minority of Buffalo County homeowners. Exemptions are set by state: how South Dakota handles assessments and appeals.
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 2% of the 66 counties in South Dakota - ranking #65 of 66.
Where Buffalo County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.40% Among the most affordable more affordable than 93% 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
Among the lowest-taxed counties in the country
At 0.40%, Buffalo County sits in the lowest 7% of all U.S. counties by effective property-tax rate. A low rate does not by itself mean a low bill: the median here is $473, and what a homeowner actually pays depends as much on local home values as on the rate.
Buffalo County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Buffalo County | South Dakota Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Very low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Very low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Very light income burden | 1.0% | - | - |
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 is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · South Dakota counties.
Buffalo County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $473 -43.9% | 0.40% |
| 2023 | $843 +46.4% | 0.78% |
| 2022 | $576 -11.4% | 0.55% |
| 2021 | $650 | 0.74% |
| 2020 | N/A | N/A |
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 only 1.0% of income
Counties near Buffalo County's effective rate
On effective rate, Buffalo County sits nearest Cimarron County (OK), Wright County (MO), Dallas County (MO).
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.
IRS county file: no disclosed Buffalo County Schedule A rows
The IRS county file records no returns reporting real estate taxes on Schedule A for Buffalo County. That is a limit of the published data rather than a finding about the county: county-level figures are withheld where the counts are too small to disclose safely, which is common in places with few filers. Roughly one county in sixteen is in this position, so the filer view available elsewhere on this site is simply not available here. Source: IRS Statistics of Income county data.
Other Counties in South Dakota
Buffalo County rate FAQs
- How does Buffalo County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Buffalo County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.40% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Buffalo County, South Dakota?
- The median annual property tax in Buffalo County is $473, an effective rate of 0.40% on a $117,800 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Buffalo County?
- Buffalo County, South Dakota scores A+ (95/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 4 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is income room at A+ (1.0%). 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 well below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.0% of the $47,045 median household income.
What to do with Buffalo County's QUIET rate
Buffalo County's $473 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 →
Income burden is light here: about 1.0% of Buffalo County's $47,045 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Buffalo County's QUIET 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: 0.40%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $473/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 (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Clay County, AR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $470/yr (near-tied bill ABS $3); rate 0.50% vs Buffalo County 0.40%.
Smith County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $469/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 0.42% vs Buffalo County 0.40%.
St. Helena Parish, LA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $469/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 0.61% vs Buffalo County 0.40%.
Searcy County, AR
ABS(median_tax) peer · $468/yr (near-tied bill ABS $5); rate 0.43% vs Buffalo County 0.40%.
South Dakota county set
State ACS overview for every published South Dakota county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Buffalo County stamps QUIET · 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 Buffalo County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.