Wisconsin · County property tax · ACS 2024
Buffalo County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Buffalo County pays $2,808 a year, an effective rate of 1.32%, well above the U.S. average.
- $2,808
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.32%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +41%
- vs U.S. average
- #46 of 72
- rank in WI
The verdict
Homeowners in Buffalo County pay a median $2,808 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.32%, more affordable than 18% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $2,808
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.32%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2580 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +41%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($213,300). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Wisconsin. Population: 13,393. Owner-occupied homes: 4,433.
The median annual property tax in Buffalo County is $2,808, which is 26% lower than the Wisconsin state average and 41% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.32% on a median home value of $213,300. Property taxes represent 4.0% 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 1.32% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 18%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Buffalo County pay a median annual property tax of $2,808, well above the national median and well below the Wisconsin state median. On a $213,300 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.32% 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 Buffalo County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.0% of the $70,479 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Wisconsin counties by effective rate
Buffalo County ranks #46 of 72 counties in Wisconsin by effective rate (36% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
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.
The rate gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Buffalo County rose 30.0%, from $164,100 to $213,300. The effective rate fell 18.4% over the same span, a steeper move than in 77% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 6.1%, to $2,808. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
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
Very little moved here between 2020 and 2024: the typical bill went from $2,647 to $2,808, a change of 6%. The comparison describes county-level medians only; individual assessments and bills can differ.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 1,943 of 4,433 owner-occupied homes (43.8%) 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 4.0% 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 Buffalo County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Buffalo County homeowners, 1,943 of 4,433 owner-occupied homes (43.8%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 4.4% (197)
- $800 to $1,499 11.5% (510)
- $1,500 to $1,999 12.6% (558)
- $2,000 to $2,999 24.9% (1,102)
- $3,000 or more 43.8% (1,943)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
123 homes here (2.8%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Wisconsin handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Buffalo County pay about the same bill, within a 1% gap either way.
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 36% of the 72 counties in Wisconsin - ranking #46 of 72.
Where Buffalo County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.32% more affordable than 18% 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 Wisconsin, a smaller bill
The effective rate here sits within 7% of the Wisconsin median, yet the median bill runs 26% 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 $2,808 here. That is why comparing counties on rate alone can invert the answer a homeowner actually cares about.
Buffalo County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Buffalo County | Wisconsin Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Heavy income burden | 4.0% | - | - |
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's STEEP · MID lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Buffalo County's published figures (STEEP · MID), a $213,300 median home carries a $2,808 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $281 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Wisconsin.
Buffalo County rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,808 -0.1% | 1.32% |
| 2023 | $2,811 -0.1% | 1.42% |
| 2022 | $2,815 +5.9% | 1.54% |
| 2021 | $2,658 +0.4% | 1.62% |
| 2020 | $2,647 | 1.61% |
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-to-income at 4.0%
Counties near Buffalo County's effective rate
On effective rate, Buffalo County sits nearest Grand Isle County (VT), Medina County (TX), Stanley County (SD).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Webster County (GA), Yoakum County (TX), Washington County (GA).
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 3% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 220 of 6,800 returns from Buffalo County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,359 - 27% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Wisconsin
Buffalo County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Buffalo County?
- Buffalo County, Wisconsin scores F (32/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-31). 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 Buffalo County, Wisconsin?
- The median annual property tax in Buffalo County is $2,808, an effective rate of 1.32% on a $213,300 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Buffalo County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Buffalo County run well above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.32% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Buffalo County?
- Property taxes in Buffalo County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 4.0% of the $70,479 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Buffalo County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Buffalo County ticked up 6.1% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,647 to $2,808, 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 $2,808 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 #46 of 72 Wisconsin counties by effective rate - on the lower-burden half of the state ACS set. Wisconsin 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: 1.32%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $2,808/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 · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP MID
Franklin County, KS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,810/yr (near-tied bill ABS $2); rate 1.41% vs Buffalo County 1.32%.
Smith County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,804/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 1.16% vs Buffalo County 1.32%.
Sioux County, IA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,801/yr (near-tied bill ABS $7); rate 1.12% vs Buffalo County 1.32%.
Wyoming County, PA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $2,817/yr (near-tied bill ABS $9); rate 1.31% vs Buffalo County 1.32%.
Wisconsin county set
State ACS overview for every published Wisconsin county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Buffalo County stamps STEEP · MID - 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 · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.