Montana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Carter County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Carter County pays $904 a year, an effective rate of 0.45%, far below the U.S. average.
- $904
- Median tax / yr · Low bill
- 0.45%
- Effective rate · Low rate
- -55%
- vs U.S. average
- #55 of 56
- rank in MT
The verdict
Homeowners in Carter County pay a median $904 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.45%, more affordable than 89% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $904
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.45%
- Effective rate on median home
- #359 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -55%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($199,200). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Montana. Population: 1,308. Owner-occupied homes: 373.
The median annual property tax in Carter County is $904, which is 66% lower than the Montana state average and 55% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.45% on a median home value of $199,200. Property taxes represent 1.7% of the median household income in this county.
Carter County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Carter County's 0.45% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 89%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Carter County pay a median annual property tax of $904, far below the national median and far below the Montana state median. On a $199,200 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.45% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
High among Montana counties by effective rate
Carter County ranks #55 of 56 counties in Montana by effective rate (2% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Carter County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.7% of the $54,167 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Carter 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 Carter County rose 82.1%, from $109,400 to $199,200. The effective rate fell 41.3% over the same span, a steeper move than in 100% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 6.9%, to $904. 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 $846 to $904, a change of 7%. The comparison describes county-level medians only; individual assessments and bills can differ.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 162 of 373 owner-occupied homes (43.4%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Both sides of this comparison sit low: household income here is in the bottom quarter of US counties, and so is the effective tax rate. The median bill works out at 1.7% of median household income, which is the arithmetic of a modest levy on modest earnings rather than of any deliberate relief.
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 Carter County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Carter County homeowners, 162 of 373 owner-occupied homes (43.4%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 43.4% (162)
- $800 to $1,499 28.4% (106)
- $1,500 to $1,999 9.7% (36)
- $2,000 to $2,999 7.5% (28)
- $3,000 or more 5.4% (20)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
21 homes here (5.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Montana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Carter County pay more than double the bill of those without one (+75%), the widest kind of value gap this dataset tracks.
Carter County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Carter County's effective rate is higher than 2% of the 56 counties in Montana - ranking #55 of 56.
Where Carter County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.45% Among the most affordable more affordable than 89% 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
Below Montana on both measures
Carter County's effective rate runs 38% under the Montana median and its bill 66% under. Both sitting on the same side means the gap is not a valuation artefact: a county can post a low rate purely because its homes are expensive, but then the bill rises to meet the state. Here it does not, so the $904 median bill reflects a genuinely lighter charge than the Montana norm rather than a different denominator. Compare it against the state page before reading anything into the county rank.
Carter County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Carter County | Montana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Low bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Light income burden | 1.7% | - | - |
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.
Carter County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Montana counties.
Carter County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $904 +15.6% | 0.45% |
| 2023 | $782 -11.4% | 0.44% |
| 2022 | $883 -9.2% | 0.63% |
| 2021 | $973 +15.0% | 0.83% |
| 2020 | $846 | 0.77% |
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.
Carter County: tax takes only 1.7% of income
Counties near Carter County's effective rate
On effective rate, Carter County sits nearest Terrebonne Parish (LA), St. John the Baptist Parish (LA), Morehouse Parish (LA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Washington County (CO), Reynolds County (MO), Pepin County (WI).
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
IRS county file: no disclosed Carter County Schedule A rows
The IRS county file records no returns reporting real estate taxes on Schedule A for Carter 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 Montana
Carter County rate FAQs
- How does Carter County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Carter County run far below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.45% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the average property tax in Carter County, Montana?
- The median annual property tax in Carter County is $904, an effective rate of 0.45% on a $199,200 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What is the tax affordability score for Carter County?
- Carter County, Montana scores B- (69/100) 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 rate relief at A (0.45%). 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 Carter County?
- Property taxes in Carter County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.7% of the $54,167 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Carter County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Carter County ticked up 6.9% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $846 to $904, 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 Carter County's QUIET rate
Carter County's $904 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 1.7% of Carter County's $54,167 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Carter 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: 0.45%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $904/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Carter County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Carter County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Motley County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Carter County at $904/yr; rate 1.03% vs Carter County 0.45%.
Calhoun County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $903/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.11% vs Carter County 0.45%.
Kidder County, ND
ABS(median_tax) peer · $903/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.58% vs Carter County 0.45%.
Marshall County, OK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $903/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.55% vs Carter County 0.45%.
Montana county set
State ACS overview for every published Montana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Carter 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 Carter County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.