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Iowa · County property tax · ACS 2024

Carroll County Property Taxes

The median homeowner in Carroll County pays $1,916 a year, an effective rate of 1.09%, modestly below the U.S. average.

$1,916
Median tax / yr · Above-median bill
1.09%
Effective rate · Above-median rate
-4%
vs U.S. average
#91 of 99
rank in IA

The verdict

Homeowners in Carroll County pay a median $1,916 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.09%, more affordable than 29% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).

$1,916
Median annual tax bill, 2024
1.09%
Effective rate on median home
#2220 of 3135
U.S. counties by tax burden
-4%
vs the national average bill

Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($176,000). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.

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Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Iowa. Population: 20,594. Owner-occupied homes: 6,784.

The median annual property tax in Carroll County is $1,916, which is 34% lower than the Iowa state average and 4% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.09% on a median home value of $176,000. Property taxes represent 2.6% of the median household income in this county.

Carroll County's rate standing among U.S. counties

Primary signal

The effective rate sits near the national middle

Carroll County's 1.09% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 29%).

Decision signal 2

High among Iowa counties by effective rate

Carroll County ranks #91 of 99 counties in Iowa by effective rate (8% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).

Decision signal 3

The bill sits below the Iowa median

Homeowners in Carroll County pay a median annual property tax of $1,916, modestly below the national median and well below the Iowa state median. On a $176,000 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.09% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.

Decision signal 4

Income and the tax bill sit in the middle band

Property taxes in Carroll County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.6% of the $72,930 median household income.

Informational notice

Figures describe the median homeowner household in Carroll 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

Carroll County sits in the quarter of U.S. counties whose effective rate moved least over this span: 0.7% up, against a median home value that rose 26.9%.

A near-steady rate on a moving market passes that movement straight through: the median bill rose 27.8%, from $1,499 to $1,916.

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.

Median Annual Tax
$1,916
Above-median bill
-34% vs State -4% vs US
Median Home Value
$176,000
-15% vs State -23% vs US
Effective Tax Rate
1.09%
Above-median rate
-22% vs State +18% vs US

How to read this county's bill

The bill here climbed steeply over 2020-2024, up 28% from $1,499 to $1,916. 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: 1,717 of 6,784 owner-occupied homes (25.3%) 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 the income and the rate here sit in the third quarter nationally, and the median bill is 2.6% of median household income. Two above-average figures pulling in opposite directions is why the rate on its own is a poor guide.

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 Carroll County Homeowners Actually Pay

The single largest group of Carroll County homeowners, 1,717 of 6,784 owner-occupied homes (25.3%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.

  • Less than $800 12.6% (854)
  • $800 to $1,499 22.2% (1,507)
  • $1,500 to $1,999 17.2% (1,169)
  • $2,000 to $2,999 20.9% (1,420)
  • $3,000 or more 25.3% (1,717)

Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.

117 homes here (1.7%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Iowa handles assessments and appeals.

With vs Without Mortgage

With Mortgage
$1,850
$154/mo
Without Mortgage
$2,002
$167/mo

Mortgaged and non-mortgaged homeowners in Carroll County pay about the same bill, within a 8% gap either way.

Carroll County's effective rate vs peers

Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.

Carroll County 1.09%
Iowa average 1.39%
U.S. average 0.92%

Carroll County's effective rate is higher than 8% of the 99 counties in Iowa - ranking #91 of 99.

Where Carroll County sits among every U.S. county

Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)

1.09% more affordable than 29% of 3,135 U.S. counties

Show national distribution This county 0.00% 4.00% every U.S. county, bucketed by value

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 Carroll County moved from $1,499 in the 2020 release to $1,916 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.

Carroll County vs Benchmarks

Metric Carroll County Iowa Avg U.S. Avg
Median Annual Tax Above-median bill $1,916 $2,897 $1,993
Effective Tax Rate Above-median rate 1.09% 1.39% 0.92%
Median Home Value $176,000 $208,000 $227,791
Tax as % of income Above-median income burden 2.6% - -

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.

Carroll County is PAR · MID on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Iowa counties.

Carroll County rate trail · PAR

$1,400$1,500$1,600$1,700$1,800$1,900$2,000 20202021202220232024 $1,916
Carroll County ACS median tax 2020–2024: +28% ($1,499 → $1,916).
Year Median Tax (vs prior release) Effective Rate
2024 $1,916 +3.6% 1.09%
2023 $1,849 +4.6% 1.05%
2022 $1,767 +10.0% 1.09%
2021 $1,607 +7.2% 1.12%
2020 $1,499 1.08%

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.

Carroll County: tax-to-income at 2.6%

Tax-to-Income Ratio
2.6%
of median household income
Median Income
$72,930
per year
Monthly Tax
$160
per month

Counties near Carroll County's effective rate

On effective rate, Carroll County sits nearest Warren County (GA), Hancock County (GA), Coffey County (KS).

On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Shelby County (KY), Kauai County (HI), Putnam County (OH).

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.

Carroll County: only 5% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax

Tax year 2022: 510 of 9,910 returns from Carroll County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,363 - 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

View all counties in Iowa →

Carroll County rate FAQs

What is the average property tax in Carroll County, Iowa?
The median annual property tax in Carroll County is $1,916, an effective rate of 1.09% on a $176,000 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
What is the tax affordability score for Carroll County?
Carroll County, Iowa scores C- (51/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at A+ ($-152). 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.
How does Carroll County property tax compare to the national average?
Property taxes in Carroll County run modestly below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.09% versus 0.92% nationally.
Are property taxes increasing in Carroll County?
The ACS median property-tax bill for Carroll County jumped 27.8% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,499 to $1,916, 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 Carroll County?
Property taxes in Carroll County run within the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 2.6% of the $72,930 median household income.

What to do with Carroll County's PAR rate

Inside Iowa, Carroll County's $1,916 median bill runs low versus the state median - check peer counties before assuming the lowest bill is the best move. Iowa overview →

Carroll County ranks #91 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 Carroll 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: 1.09%.

Similar median bill

Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,916/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.

Read with Carroll County

Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Carroll County (PAR · MID), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.

PAR MID

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 Carroll County (PAR · MID) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.